France to give 24-hour protection to Israeli Olympics team amid Gaza tensions

July 22, 2024 and   

(Reuters) Israeli athletes will receive 24-hour protection during the Paris Olympics, France’s interior minister said, after a far-left lawmaker said Israel’s delegation was not welcome and called for protests against their participation.

The Games begin on Friday amid pronounced security concerns and heightened geopolitical tensions over the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. Israel’s war against Hamas that has devastated Gaza has become a lightning rod among France’s far left, with some critics accusing pro-Palestinian members of antisemitism.

French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said in a TV interview on Sunday evening that Israeli athletes would be protected around the clock during the Games, 52 years after the Munich Olympics massacre in which 11 Israelis were killed by Palestinian militants.

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