Palestinians banking on wildcards for Paris Olympics

The majority of Palestinian Olympic hopefuls are counting on wildcards from the International Olympic Committee to take part in the Paris games amid the ongoing war in Gaza, the President of the Palestinian Olympic Committee said on Wednesday.

“We have one athlete who has already qualified,” Jibril Rajoub told a press conference. “We will have a minimum of 6-8 [athletes].” He added that three athletes would likely be from Gaza, including one or two women.

Reuters has reported that others are training to meet the IOC standards in their sports to have priority for wildcards. These are part of the IOC’s universality rule for all national Olympic committees to be present at the games. The Paris Olympics starts on 26 July.

“We have other opportunities in judo, boxing, weightlifting and swimming. They are all outside Palestine now,” said Rajoub. “They are training around the world in some [countries] who took us in as guests.”

He pointed out that since the start of the latest Israel offensive against Gaza in October last year, more than 300 athletes, referees and sports officials have been killed. Moreover, all sports facilities in Gaza have been destroyed by the Israelis.

“There are hundreds more under the rubble and hundreds under the oppression of the [Israeli] occupation,” said the Palestinian official. “We are oppressed and violated by the other side. All Palestinians are subjected to this oppression.”

He added that Palestinian athletes had been given support by Arab states, including Kuwait, Qatar, Libya and Egypt among others, to allow training in those countries. “At the games in Paris we will be present, we will be representing Palestine in this amazing global event.”

The latest Israeli war started on 7 October when Hamas, the de facto government in Gaza, crossed the border in an incursion during which 1,200 Israelis were killed, many by Israel Defence Forces tanks and helicopters, according to local media. The resistance movement took around 250 people back to Gaza as hostages; it is one of the most crowded places on earth.

Israel’s subsequent offensive has not only killed at least 38,000 Palestinians — mainly children and women — but also created a humanitarian crisis with shortages of food, fuel and medicine as well as water in a territory where housing and civilian infrastructure are now little more than rubble.

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