Between six and eight Palestinians are expected to participate in July’s Summer Olympics in Paris, even if they fail to qualify, International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach told AFP.
Bach told the news outlet that since Hamas terrorists massacred 1,200 Jewish civilians and took 253 hostages in October, the IOC's policy towards the Palestinian team has “supported in many different ways the athletes to allow them to take part in qualifications and to continue their training.”
The IOC leader called the restrictions placed on Russian and Belarusian competitors in response to the 2022 invasion of Ukraine as something that is "completely different."
Russia’s and Belarus’s Olympic Committees were suspended from the IOC in July, resulting in their athletes having to undergo background screening to certify that they have not shown support for the war in Ukraine or are members of their respective nations’ military or security services.
Participants from these two states must be registered as “neutral status Olympians” and are forbidden from displaying their national flags when undertaking their events.
There have been no indications that similar efforts will apply to any Palestinians at the games.
Despite not being a widely recognized state, individuals have competed under the Palestinian flag since the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta.
