Alkass Digital
IOC President Thomas Bach received a delegation from the Palestine Olympic Committee led by its President, Jibril Rajoub, at Olympic House in Lausanne, Switzerland last Wednesday, April 17.
Welcoming the Palestine delegation, the IOC President said that the IOC’s thoughts were with the many innocent victims of the current conflict in the region and their families and hoped that a peaceful solution could be found as soon as possible.
Despite the tragic circumstances, Palestine NOC President Rajoub reiterated his NOC’s commitments and efforts in ensuring the participation of a team from Palestine at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
“Our athletes are looking forward to proudly representing Palestine in Paris alongside all the other NOC teams from around the world,” President Rajoub said.
President Bach reiterated that the IOC would continue to assist the Palestine NOC and its athletes as much as possible in their preparation and qualification for Paris 2024, in particular through the Olympic Solidarity programmes. He congratulated the NOC on the success of Omar Yaser Ismail, who is the first-ever Palestinian taekwondo athlete to qualify for the Olympic Games.
The IOC is also assisting a number of other Palestinian athletes actively to qualify for Paris 2024. Among them is swimmer Valerie Tarazi, a member of the NOC delegation visiting the IOC, who said she was determined to participate in the Games and compete against the world’s best swimmers in Paris.
In this context, the question of invitations for Palestinian athletes as part of the Universality quota places was discussed, but also the mid- and long-term perspective of how the IOC, through Olympic Solidarity, could support the best athletes from Palestine during their preparation and qualification for the Olympic Games LA28 and beyond.
President Rajoub presented a "Palestinian Sports Revival Plan" and asked the IOC for support. President Bach agreed that the IOC would coordinate an international effort to mobilise funding from various contributors for this plan which is aimed at rebuilding the destroyed sporting facilities in Palestine. The plan sends a strong message of hope to the entire Olympic community in Palestine from grassroots to elite.