Six months after the start of a war that has devastated Gaza, the Palestinian Olympic Committee is fighting against immeasurable obstacles to ensure its athletes participate in the Paris Games. Technical director Nader Jayousi tells France 24 that his delegation seeks to bring a “message of peace” to the world and inspire Palestinian children, “whose dreams have been shattered by bombs.”
Palestinian athletes have participated in every Summer Olympics since they were first admitted to the Atlanta Games in 1996.
Each participation has had special meaning for residents of the Palestinian Territories and the Palestinian diaspora, giving the stateless a place to compete with the rest of the world.
Participating in Paris will be even more significant in the context of the war that has devastated most of the Gaza Strip and killed, according to health officials in the Hamas-controlled enclave, at least 33,000 people, including some of the athletes who had set their sights on the Olympics.
“Between athletes, coaches and club staff, the Palestinian sports scene has lost at least 170 people,” said Jayousi, from the Palestinian Olympic Committee headquarters near Jerusalem.
Among the victims are Olympic soccer team coach Hani Al-Masdar and volleyball star Ibrahim Qusaya, both killed during Israeli bombings in Gaza.
“To these tragedies we must add the destruction of infrastructure: the Yarmouk stadium, the offices of the Olympic Committee in Gaza and several other stadiums. (…) If the war ended today, at least 70% of the population of Gaza He would be homeless, and he would not be thinking about playing sports,” added the technical director.
Jayousi explained that the war forced the Palestinian committee to scale back its ambitions, abruptly ending a pioneering program aimed at increasing the number of athletes qualifying for the Olympics.
Despite the huge setback, Palestinian hopes received a big boost last month when Omar Ismail earned a first berth in men's taekwondo, a feat Jayousi hopes other athletes will match in the coming weeks.
The Palestinian delegation presented a record five athletes at the Tokyo Games. Jayousi states that the goal was to “exceed that number.” He remains confident that the wild cards will help his country field the largest delegation to date in the history of the Olympic Games.
France 24: What were your goals for the Paris Olympics and how has the outbreak of war affected your preparation?
Nader Jayousi: It must be understood that the sports scene in Palestine has been completely paralyzed since October 7. When these events began, we were with our delegation at the Asian Games in China, achieving a historic achievement with Palestine's first bronze medal for Hala Alqadi in karate. Since then, we have dedicated our time to trying to ensure the safety of our athletes, some of whom are from Gaza.
We had been running a pilot programme, focusing for the first time on a group of elite athletes to try to secure their qualification for the Olympic Games. But the break came at the worst possible moment, in the final stretch of preparations, the most important moment of the Olympic cycle. It's devastating.
We try to adapt by shortening the list of athletes, sending them to train in friendly countries. We continue forward and achieve our goal: we have qualified for the Paris Games, in taekwondo. It's historic.
F24: Have you been able to train in the last six months?
NJ: It took us 40 days to get our weightlifting champion, Muhammad Hamada, out of Gaza with his brother, who is also his coach.
He is a former junior world champion and was very close to qualifying for the Olympic Games. Unfortunately, when this tragedy began, he was in northern Gaza, one of the first areas to be invaded.
Mentally he is extremely strong. In fact, he continued training during the first months of the war. We have footage of him training in his house and you can hear the military planes and drones. But then the famine started and he lost between 15 and 17 kilos, which is extremely harmful if you are a weightlifter.
Right now he is in Thailand, for the Olympic qualifiers, doing the best he can. If he doesn't make it, hopefully we can get him a wild card for Paris. It's just an example. We are here for all our athletes, at your service, to give them the opportunity to compete.
F24: How can athletes focus on sport when there is so much suffering at home?
NJ: It is the mental foundation on which we have built our athletes. They have enough awareness and maturity to understand that this is not just an individual dream. They don't just represent themselves; They represent a country, a history, a cause.
This is how our athletes stay focused. We've been going through this for 75 years. If we let it get to our heads, we will be defeated in two days. We have to be mentally very strong. We can overcome it, we have overcome it. We will be in the Olympic Games.
F24: What kind of support have you received from other countries or the Olympic Committee (IOC)?
NJ: We have good support from our brother Arab countries, who have organized training camps for our teams.
Our national football team achieved a historic achievement by reaching the round of 16 of the Asian Cup in January. They were formed in Saudi Arabia, in Doha (Qatar), in Kuwait. We have massive support from countries around the world who believe in the aspirations of Palestinians to succeed in sports.
As for the IOC, we are always in contact with them, and (IOC President) Thomas Bach himself said that they will do everything possible to ensure Palestine's participation in the Paris Olympics.
They consider it very important to give Palestine the opportunity, like any other country, to be in the Games. And we have just renewed our 100% commitment to the Olympic Charter and IOC regulations.
So I think we are doing well in terms of support from friendly countries, including, certainly, Western countries.
F24: The IOC ruled out sanctions on the Israeli delegation for the war in Gaza, rejecting comparisons with the sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. Do you agree with this decision?
NJ: As members of an Olympic Committee, we avoid talking about political issues. Our field is sports. I have no comment on Russia and Ukraine. And Israel's presence in the Olympic Games is not a topic we discuss. If our leaders have something to say on this issue, they will hear it in the media.
I can answer any technical questions about our athletes, that is the scope of our work. We do not intervene in politics in any way, not even our own.
F24: The Games could pit Palestinian and Israeli athletes against each other. Is this something you discuss with your team?
NJ: Do you think Palestinians get nervous when they meet Israelis?
We meet Israelis every day, in our cities, our streets, our schools. And we usually find them with their weapons. So the idea of meeting them at the Olympic Games is not something that worries us.
We will go to the Olympic Games to compete and represent our country in the best way possible. We are not worried about meeting anyone.
F24: What will it mean to see the Palestinian flag waved by your delegation during the opening ceremony on July 26?
NJ: In the midst of all these atrocities and all these tragedies, people will see athletes who insist on making their dream come true, on representing a country and a cause.
I think it represents a great message of peace, showing the world what the Palestinians aspire to. It is also a message for future generations, for our children whose dreams have been shattered by bombs and rockets. These children will see role models and aspire to be like our athletes who competed in the Paris Olympics.
There is a great message that we must convey: we do not give up, we do not give up. We will preserve the Palestinian identity through sport and show that we are a peaceful people, full of pride and respect for other nations.
This interview has been adapted from its original version in English and French.
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