Palestinian flags unfurled by football fans in protest against Israel at Paris Olympics

Football fans unfurled Palestinian flags to protest against Israel during a match at the Paris Olympic Games yesterday, Anadolu has reported. Israel drew 1-1 with Mali in the match at Parc des Princes Stadium as many fans in the stands protested by waving Palestinian flags.

Before the kick-off, some sections of the crowd booed the Israeli national anthem. Nevertheless, the match was held without major security incidents.

Earlier this week, the Palestinian Olympic body called on the International Olympic Committee to exclude Israel from the Paris Games which open officially tomorrow and will last until 11 August. Calls have also been made to football’s world governing body, FIFA, to suspend Israel from international competitions.

Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since 7 October last year, when Hamas-led fighters carried out a cross-border incursion during which 1,200 people were killed, many of them by the Israel Defence Forces. The resistance groups took 250 Israelis back to Gaza as hostages, of whom around 120 are still in captivity. Israel believes that a third of the hostages are dead.

Ever since the Hamas-led incursion, Israel has been waging a devastating war against the Palestinians in Gaza. The Israeli offensive has killed 40,000 Palestinians, mainly children and women, and wounded more than 90,000 others. An estimated 10,000 Palestinians are missing, presumed dead, under the rubble of their homes and other civilian infrastructure destroyed by Israel. At least 90 per cent of the population in Gaza has been displaced, the UN has confirmed.

Israel faces the charge of genocide brought by South Africa in a submission to the International Court of Justice. The apartheid state denies the charge.

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