The Albany Gazette - IOC mulls Palestinian call for Israel Olympics ban

As the Israeli Olympic team settled into the Athletes' Village, the IOC was studying a letter sent by the Palestine Olympic Committee to president Thomas Bach asking him to ban the Israelis, citing the bombings of the besieged Gaza Strip as a breach of the Olympic truce.

The letter sent on Monday "emphasized that Palestinian athletes, particularly those in Gaza, are denied safe passage and have suffered significantly due to the ongoing conflict".

It said "approximately 400 Palestinian athletes have been killed, and the destruction of sports facilities exacerbates the plight of athletes who are already under severe restrictions".

The IOC is likely to reject the Palestinian call but it highlights how the rising death toll and growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza is impacting the Paris Games.

The war broke out after the October 7 attack on southern Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 37,124 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the territory's health ministry.

France's foreign minister has already had to intervene to stress that Israeli athletes are welcome at the Games after a far-left French politicians called for them to be barred over the Gaza offensive.

- 'Best Athletes' Village' -

Competitors were flooding into the Olympic Village to take up residence in the compound in northern Paris, with national flags hanging from many windows.

Some of the biggest names set to perform at the Olympics -- gymnast Simone Biles and Spanish tennis pair Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz -- have been spotted at the village.

Reviews of the food and accommodation were broadly positive but some people reported issues with the transport to and from sports venues.

"Usually at Olympics, the transport takes a bit of time to work out," Tom Craig, a player in the Australian hockey team, told AFP.

"We've heard about some teams getting taken to the wrong venue, but it hasn't happened to us. One day we got a bit lost but it was fine."

American gymnastics coach Sam Mikulak, a veteran of four Olympics, praised the village as the best he had seen.

"Ten out of 10. It's the best set up, the best conditioning space (gym), very organised," he told AFP.

Craig also praised the cardboard beds, which were chosen for environmental reasons.

Some reports have wrongly described them as being intended to deter athletes from jumping under the sheets together.

"They're very comfortable. You don't know you're sleeping on cardboard," he said.

Meanwhile, Britain's joint most decorated woman Olympian, dressage specialist Charlotte Dujardin, withdrew from the Games after a video emerged showing her making "an error of judgement" during a coaching session.

It was not immediately clear what three-time Olympic champion Dujardin had done but Olympic and equestrian authorities have taken an increasingly strict line against alleged improprieties relating to the treatment of animals in recent years.

During the delayed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, a German modern pentathlon coach was thrown out the Games for striking a horse.

In other developments, as organisers put the final touches to the plans for Friday's Olympics opening ceremony on the Seine, videos posted online showing US pop star Lady Gaga in Paris sparked rumours that she will be among the performers.

The line-up for the ceremony, which marks the first time a Summer Olympics has opened outside of the main stadium, is yet to be fully announced.

(A.Thompson--TAG)