IOC defends ‘Israeli’ participation in Olympics citing “equal rights”

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has reaffirmed its decision to allow ‘Israel’ to participate in the Olympic Games, a move that comes in response to increasing international calls for a ban.

The latest statement from the IOC was prompted, in part, by advocacy from Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja, who has argued that countries "committing war crimes" should not have the "privilege" of participating in international events.

Khawaja’s statements came in a meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Canberra, in which the former urged him to end all trade with ‘Israel’ and impose sanctions until “aid flows back into Gaza and they stop killing innocent children”.

An IOC spokesperson told Australian outlet SBS News that teams representing ‘Israel’ are recognized and “have equal rights” to teams representing Palestine.

"Teams from both participated in the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and their athletes were living peacefully together under one roof in the Olympic Village," the statement added.

The push for a ban has been long led by the Palestine Olympic Committee, which formally requested ‘Israel's’ suspension, citing the devastation of the conflict in Gaza on the Palestinian sports community.

The committee’s letter to the IOC at the time detailed the deaths of hundreds of Palestinian athletes and the destruction of a significant portion of sports infrastructure.

Critics, including human rights organizations, accuse the IOC of a glaring double standard by not sanctioning ‘Israel’ in the same way it did Russia after the Ukraine war.

In its defense, the IOC insisted previously that its actions are based on a specific, technical violation of the Olympic Charter by Russia, the takeover of Ukrainian regional Olympic organizations, which it says is "completely different" from the situation in Gaza.