2024-01-04 17:36:54
Seven months before the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the conflict between Hamas and Israel which has caused thousands of victims in the Gaza Strip raises the question of representation of the Palestinians at the next Olympics. Since 1996 and the Atlanta Olympics, only 25 athletes have represented Palestine at the Olympic Games.
Published on: 01/04/2024 – 4:36 p.m.
5 mn
In Gaza, Israeli military operations have brought to their knees “ youth and sport », Recently denounced the president of the Palestine Olympic Committee, Jibril Rajoub. “ More than a thousand people have already been killed among members of youth, sports and scouting organizations “, he lamented. Jibril Rajoub accuses the Israeli army of “ target sports facilities, clubs and federation headquarters. »
The Palestinian Football Federation, for its part, announced that it had sent a letter to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Football Federation (FIFA) to “ note the destruction of infrastructure » and demand “ an urgent international investigation into the crimes of the occupation against athletes in Palestine ».
« We tell our story of being at the Olympic Games »
However, despite the war, last December, Nader Jayousi, technical director of the Palestinian Olympic Committee, explained to Parisian that a Palestinian delegation could participate in the Paris Games, with the objective of delivering “ a message of peace “. Nader Jayousi does not want to lose hope of seeing his flag flying on the Seine next July. In Tokyo, during the last Olympics, five Palestinians marched during the opening ceremony.
« We are candidates for IOC invitations, and we are not losing hope of qualifying directly. We know we need a miracle to qualify, especially since the athletes are no longer training “, he said. And to add: “ For us, the Olympics are not just about athletes going to a city and competing. It is a national need. We tell our story of being at the Olympic Games. We preserve our identity by participating in these Olympics, we represent a nation that refuses to flee. It’s not just sport, we want to prove that we can be part of this event which brings together the best nations in the world ».
Mohammed Hamada during the Tokyo Olympics, July 31, 2021. AFP – LUIS ACOSTA
The founding of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Palestine dates back to 1933, when the country was under British mandate. After several years of interruption, the NOC was reborn in 1986. It was not officially recognized by the IOC until nine years later, in 1995, in the middle of the Oslo peace accords process. At the time, Israel protested against this recognition and asserted: “ There is an attempt to use the Games for political purposes to influence the ongoing political negotiation process, which is contrary to both the Olympic charter and the agreement recently signed between Israel and the Palestinians. » The IOC will reject this remark.
The following year, at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Majed Abu Marahil waved the Palestinian flag for the first time during the opening ceremony. The men’s 10,000 meter runner will be the only athlete in his delegation. During the Sydney Olympics in 2000, two Palestinian athletes made the trip. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Mohammad Hamada, a 19-year-old Gazan, represented his territory for the first time in the weightlifting event.
The 2020 edition of the Olympic Games, postponed by a year due to a global pandemic, was marked by the seventh participation of the Palestinian team. The delegation of eleven people, including five athletes, paraded in 141st place during the opening ceremony. “ The objective is to have at least five athletes in Paris, as in Tokyo. And it would be great to have more. But everything is still very vague, we are not even sure of going to Paris », Nader Jayousi says today.
In Palestine, sport is a privilege
Since Atlanta, only 25 Palestinian athletes have represented the colors of Palestine. Present in Tokyo, swimmer Yazan Al Bawwab, who lives in Dubai, hopes to set foot on French soil. “ One of the big problems at the moment, apart from the fact that those living in Gaza are risking their lives, is that we have no budget, explain to Parisian the backstroke and crawl specialist. Whether it is to participate in qualifying events or training camps, it is very complicated. »
« In countries like Palestine, where there is little money, sport is a privilegesouligne Written by Al Bawwab. Families mainly try to feed themselves, sport is not the priority. I am one of the privileged few and I want to honor my country. » Yazan Al Bawwab was not born and never lived in Palestine. “ I was born in Saudi Arabia, grew up in Dubai, went to university in Canada and Great Britain, lived in the Netherlands and have Italian citizenshiphe explains. I never had a place that I could call home, but I always knew that Palestine was my home, and that I should be proud of it. »
For the Palestinians, the first contacts with the IOC date back to 1978. September 13, 1993, the same day when the leader of the PLO, Yasser Arafat, and the Israeli Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin, shook hands on the lawn of the White House, the IOC extended its arms to help young Palestinians practice their sport. The proclamation of the State of Israel in May 1948 led the IOC to no longer invite the Palestine team to the 1948 Games in the United Kingdom. To avoid a boycott by Arab nations, the IOC also did not invite the Israeli delegation on the grounds that it did not have a recognized national Olympic committee. In Paris, Palestinian and Israeli athletes could come together around the universal values of sport during the Olympic Truce, to promote peace, dialogue and reconciliation.
#Palestines #presence #Paris #Olympics #question