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Israeli athletes will receive around-the-clock protection for the Olympics after an anti-Israel far-left lawmaker called for protests against the delegation and said they are “not welcome in Paris.”
The Olympics kick off Friday in France as global tensions continue over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Israel’s war on Gaza, the latter of which has become a favorite punching bag for allies of France’s leftist New Popular Front coalition.
“We are a few days away from an international event which will be held in Paris, which is the Olympic Games,” said radical-left France Unbowed (LFI) lawmaker Thomas Portes to a crowd in Paris on Saturday, according to images circulating on social media.
“And I am here to say that no, the Israeli delegation is not welcome in Paris. Israeli athletes are not welcome at the Olympic Games in Paris,” he told the cheering crowd sympathetic to the lefty coalition, which earlier this month pulled off a surprise victory in the country’s parliamentary elections.
Portes also called for protests to demonstrate against the Israeli athletes’ participation.
Other leftist LFI lawmakers took to social media to show their support for the effort, accusing the Jewish state of violating international law in its war with Hamas.
“Faced with repeated violations of international law by the Israeli government, it is legitimate to ask that its athletes compete under a neutral banner in the Olympic Games,” senior party official Manuel Bompard wrote on X.
After Portes’ declaration, French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin quickly took to the airwaves to announce the athletes would be protected continuously during the games.
The Palestinian Olympic Committee, which is sending eight athletes to compete in Paris, also came out against Israel’s participation, penning a letter outlining its objections to International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach.
Their letter called for Israel to be excluded from the games and accused the country of violating the Olympic truce, an ancient Greek tradition dating back to the 9th century BC, wherein foreign adversaries temporarily halt ongoing military hostilities to ensure safe passage for athletes and spectators.
French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne attempted to provide reassurance that the Israeli athletes were welcome and would be safe in Paris while speaking at a meeting with his European counterparts in Brussels on Monday.
“I want to say on behalf of France, to the Israeli delegation, we welcome you to France for these Olympic Games,” he said, according to Reuters.
Sejourne said he would reiterate his welcome message during a phone call with the Israeli foreign minister, adding he would “tell him that we are ensuring the security of the Israeli delegation.”
The 33rd Summer Olympics come 52 years after the massacre at the 1972 games in Munich in which 11 Israeli athletes were slaughtered by the Palestinian militant organization Black September.
In the run-up to this year’s games, the location of a memorial ceremony set to take place to honor the Israeli athletes killed in the Munich attack was changed from outside Paris’ City Hall to the Israeli embassy.
Israel is expected to send approximately 88 athletes to compete in Paris.
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