NO ISRAEL BOYCOTT, INSIST IOC, MACRON

Amid calls by Palestinians, Bach says Olympic body not in the political business’

- 

International Olympic Committee (IOC) chief Thomas Bach and French President Emmanuel Macron have rejected a Palestinian demand that Israel be barred from the Paris Games over the war in Gaza.

As the Israeli team settled into the Athletes' Village, the IOC studied a letter from the Palestine Olympic Committee asking for a ban on Israel, citing the bombings of the besieged Gaza Strip as a breach of the Olympic truce.

The letter, sent three days before the opening ceremony on July 26, "emphasised that Palestinian athletes, particularly those in Gaza, are denied safe passage and have suffered significantly due to the ongoing conflict".

It said that "approximately 400 Palestinian athletes have been killed and the destruction of sports facilities exacerbates the plight of athletes who are already under severe restrictions".

But Bach indicated that he would not be drawn into "political business".

"The position of the IOC is very clear. We have two National Olympic Committees (NOC), that is the difference with the world of politics, and in this respect both have been living in peaceful co-existence," he said.