Ramallah: Palestinian athletes will be a symbol of ‘resistance’ at the Paris Olympics.
Eight Palestinian athletes will participate in the Paris Olympics, where they will compete in swimming, archery, taekwondo, judo and boxing events. One Palestinian athlete qualified for the event through the qualifying round, while seven have been invited by special invitation.
Valerie Tarazi, a 24-year-old swimmer with American and Palestinian citizenship who reached the event by qualifying, won the title at last year’s Arab Games in Algeria.
According to the French news agency, this will be the eighth time that Palestinian athletes have participated in the Olympics since 1996. French organizers have increased security in Paris due to the ongoing war in Gaza.
As the Palestinian delegation left the occupied West Bank, Palestinian Authority Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Varsin Aghabekian Shahin said that Palestinian athletes participating in the Paris Olympics would be a symbol of “resistance” during Israel’s brutal terror in Gaza.
He said that during the darkest moments in our history, Palestinian athletes are preparing for the Paris Games starting on July 26. You are not only a player but also a symbol of the Palestinian resistance.
Jibril Rajab, head of the Palestinian Olympic Committee, said that we want the participation in the Olympics to send a message from the Palestinians to the world that it is time for us to be free in our homeland.
He added that through this participation, we want to present the suffering of the Palestinian people and the massacres in Gaza to the world.
Jibril Rajab, head of the Palestinian Olympic Committee, said that since October 7, 400 athletes, coaches and people associated with sports have been martyred and injured in Gaza in Israeli attacks.
At least 38,584 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Gaza in Israeli attacks, according to the Health Ministry of Hamas-run Gaza.
