A French MP for the hard-left Unbowed party (LFI) has said that Israeli athletes are “not welcome” at the Paris Olympics.
Thomas Portes has been criticised after he called for protests against the presence of the Israeli team at this summer’s games.
Speaking at a pro-Palestinian gathering in Paris, on Saturday, he said: “We are just a few days away from an international event in Paris, the Olympic Games.
“And I’m here to tell you that the Israeli delegation is not welcome in Paris.
“Israeli athletes are not welcome at the Olympic Games in Paris.
“And we need to use every lever we have to mobilise and denounce the presence of the state that is today massacring a population.”
His comments have been condemned as “indecent” and “irresponsible” by Yonathan Arfi, president of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions (CRIF) in France.
Mr Arfi pointed out that at the 1972 Munich Olympic games, 11 Israeli athletes were killed by the Palestinian militant group Black September.
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He continued: “Since 7 October, Thomas Portes has legitimized Hamas. He now puts a target on the backs of Israeli athletes.
He claimed Israeli athletes were already the “most threatened” and branded Mr Portes’s comments as “irresponsible”.
In response to the comments, Stephane Sejourne, France’s minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs, said that Israel was welcome at the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
He added that “France will ensure the security of all delegations”.
The comments come after a left-wing coalition won the most seats in France’s recent elections.
After a first round of voting put far-right National Rally in first place, the left-wing coalition swept ahead in the second round, with Emmanuel Macron’s centre coalition, Ensemble, coming in second.
Source : Sky News
