Ramallah, Palestine, March 27, 2024: The President of the Palestine Olympic Committee, Major General Jibril Rajoub, has briefed IOC President Thomas Bach on the latest situation at home.
The POC chief received a phone call from the IOC President last week, enquiring about the Palestinian sports situation in the wake of the war.
Rajoub pointed out that the situation was dire and that many athletes had been killed, wounded or were missing, in addition to the destruction of infrastructure and sporting facilities.
The POC President also told Bach that all sporting activities had been suspended within Palestinian territory to ensure the safety of athletes, but confirmed that that the Palestine Olympic Committee was committed to participating in all international and continental competition, including the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Bach, in his turn, said the IOC was supportive of a two-state solution and the existence of two independent National Olympic Committees.
Bach also congratulated Rajoub on the historic achievement of Omar Hantouli, who won Palestine its first ever berth in taekwondo at the Olympic Games, and expressed his hope that Palestinian athletes would achieve top results internationally.
Bach invited Rajoub to visit him at the IOC Headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.