Greek actress Mary Mina, taking part in the position of High Priestess provides the torch to the President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee and member of the International Olympic Committee Spyros Capralos in the course of the Handover Ceremony.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Between six and eight Palestinian athletes are anticipated to compete on the Paris Olympics, with some set to be invited by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) even when they fail to qualify, its head Thomas Bach stated.
Mr. Bach advised AFP on Friday that qualification occasions for the Paris Games, which begin on July 26, had been ongoing for various sports activities.
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“But we have made the clear commitment that even if no (Palestinian) athlete would qualify on the field of play … then the NOC (National Olympic Committee) of Palestine would benefit from invitations, like other national Olympic Committees who do not have a qualified athlete,” he stated in an interview at IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.
He stated he anticipated the Palestinian delegation to quantity “six to eight”.
Mr. Bach stated that the International Olympic Committee “from day one of the conflict” in Gaza had “supported in many different ways the athletes to allow them to take part in qualifications and to continue their training.”
Palestinian militants from Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, ensuing within the deaths of about 1,170 individuals, in accordance to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory navy marketing campaign to destroy Hamas has killed 34,356 individuals, principally girls and kids, in accordance to the well being ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.
Mr. Bach dismissed ideas the IOC has handled Russia in a different way over its invasion of Ukraine in contrast with Israel and its warfare in Gaza.
Russia was suspended from many worldwide sports activities after its invasion and its athletes have been banned from competing underneath the nationwide flag at Paris 2024.
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In order to participate within the Paris Games, they’re additionally required to have by no means publicly supported the warfare in opposition to Ukraine and never be employed by the navy or safety providers.
The sanctions in opposition to Russia had been a results of Moscow violating the “Olympic truce” in its invasion of Ukraine quickly after the Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022 and for annexing Ukrainian sports activities organisations.
“The situation between Israel and Palestine is completely different,” Mr. Bach stated.
He stated he had been even-handed in his public statements on Ukraine, the Hamas assault on Israel and the “horrifying consequences” of the warfare in Gaza.
“From day one, we expressed how horrified we were, first on the seventh of October and then about the war and its horrifying consequences,” Mr. Bach stated.
“We have always been very clear as we have been with the Russian invasion in Ukraine.”
