PARIS: Palestinian boxer Waseem Abu Sal wore a shirt depicting children being bombed for the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics in a test for organisers who have strict rules on political statements.
Abu Sal was one of two flag-bearers for the Palestinian delegation during the rain-soaked river parade along the Seine on Friday.
His white shirt had embroidered images of warplanes dropping missiles over children playing sport.
“This shirt represents the current picture in Palestine,“ Abu Sal told AFP on Saturday.
“The children who are martyred and die under the rubble, children whose parents are martyred and are left alone without food or water.”
At least 39,258 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched a military campaign in retaliation for an October 7 attack by Hamas militants, according to figures from the Hamas-run health ministry.
The October attack that began the war resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Jibril Rajoub, president of the Palestine Olympic Committee, told AFP they had checked with the local organising committee of the Paris Olympics to see if Abu Sal’s shirt contravened Olympic regulations.
“It’s a message of peace. It’s a message to attract attention,“ he said. “This is anti-war, against killing. This abides with the Olympic Charter.”
“We presented it, they approved it,“ he added.
The Paris organising committee, the International Olympic Committee and the Israeli Olympic Committee were contacted for comment by AFP.
The IOC bans political statements on the field of play during sports events and during the opening and closing ceremonies, but athletes are free to express themselves in press conferences and on social media.
– Sanctions –
The Palestine Olympic Committee wrote to the IOC last week asking for a ban on Israeli athletes at the July 26-August 11 Paris Olympics, which has been rejected.
Rajoub said that IOC president Thomas Bach, who is German, had “good intentions” but he called on him to take action.
“It’s the time to take sanctions against those who are violating (the Olympic Charter),“ Rajoub told AFP. “The double standard policies is not good for the message of sport, or those who have good intentions.
“Not to take sanctions against Israel is part of the legacy of Europe and their crimes,“ he added, referring to the Holocaust during World War II.
He said he would not issue any instructions to the small eight-person Palestinian sports delegation in Paris in case any of them had to compete against an Israeli rival.
In the past, some Arab athletes have withdrawn rather than compete against Israelis.
“We want to expose the suffering of our people, their legal, legitimate ambitions, through the athletes, through the Games, according to the Olympic Charter,“ Rajoub said.
Boxer Abu Sal, 20, received a wildcard for the Olympics boxing.
He lives in the West Bank and is unable to train with his Cairo-based coach — a Gazan who cannot travel to him due to Israeli restrictions.
