by Andrea Tucci,
While Olympians from most countries prepared for years to put on their best performance at the largest sporting event, those from Palestine had to face also surviving from periodic Israeli military incursions.
The attacks on athletes and sports in particular in the Gaza Strip were all very systematic to obliterate and erase sports in the territory. Israel’s intentions go further than eliminating Gaza’s current athletic capacity, but also to undermine Palestinians’ achievements in all areas.
This applies to political, intellectual, economic, and literary fields, where historically, many talented Palestinians have been targeted.
According to the Palestinian Olympic Committee and Palestine Football Association, about 342 athletes have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7 and that the war has claimed 245 players in that sport alone, including 69 children and 176 young men.
A total of 42 facilities have been reduced to rubble in Gaza, while seven lie in ruins in the West Bank.
Israel has obliterated the heart of football, Gaza’s beloved sport, transforming stadiums into detention centers. Take the Yarmouk Stadium in Gaza City, where hundreds of Palestinians, including children, endure humiliation, stripped bare of their dignity and clothes.
Israel’s offensive has also caused the death of prominent players in Gaza, including Olympian champions.
Nagham Abu Samra is one of them. A karate champion who was destined for the Paris Olympics. She suffered severe wounds from an Israeli attack, resulting in head injuries and the amputation of one of her legs. Tragically, she passed away in a hospital in Egypt.
Experts are still questioning the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) decision to let participate Israel in the tournament.
Israel’s actions reveal a stark absence of core Olympic values like peace, tolerance, respect, and forgiveness.
How is it that Israel competes in the Olympic Games while Russia faces a ban? Moscow’s deeds in their conflict pale in comparison to the havoc Israel has wreaked in Gaza.
This disgraceful stance revealed the hypocrisy of the IOC. The organizers of this year’s Olympics have said:
“Their decision to keep Israel in the Games while upholding the ban on Russia and Belarus is due to Moscow’s annexation of Ukrainian territory, while Tel Aviv has not formally seized territory in Gaza”.
But isn’t it enough that Israel is being accused by the top UN Court of genocide for the operation in the southern city of Rafa?
Well as Pierre de Coubertin said:
The important thing is to participate, genocide permitting.
