Malaysia: we refused to host Israeli swimmers "in the name of humanity and Palestine"

KUALA LUMPUR: The refusal of Israeli athletes to participate in a swimming tournament organized by his country was "in the name of humanity and Palestine," said Sunday the Malaysian Minister of Youth and Sports, Sayed Sadiq .

Sadiq, commenting on the withdrawal of the International Paralympic Committee earlier in the day, said the country was allowed to host the 2019 World Swimming Championships because of its refusal to allow Israeli athletes to participate.

The Malaysian minister said the committee's decision would not change his country's position: "Malaysia is sticking to its decision on behalf of humanity and Palestine", he said. declared.

"If the organization of an international sporting event is more important than the support of our Palestinian brothers killed by the regime of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Malaysia has lost consciousness."

Sadiq said that Malaysia had not made a moral mistake in preventing the participation of two Israeli swimmers in the tournament.

"We would like to remind the Committee that even Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have mentioned that the Netanyahu government is committing a war crime (against the Palestinians)," said the Malaysian minister.

He added that Malaysia had placed human rights among its priorities, stressing that his country would not back down from its decision.

Malaysia was to host the World Swimming Championships from 29 July to 4 August.

This tournament is one of the qualifying events for the 2020 Paralympic Games in the Japanese capital, Tokyo, where more than 600 athletes from 70 countries will participate.

Earlier, the Paralympic Committee said in a statement that it had "withdrawn the right to host the World Swimming Championships in Malaysia".

She explained that "the decision was made by the board of directors of the committee at its meeting in London after the inability of the Malaysian Interior Ministry to provide the necessary guarantees enabling the Israeli swimmers to participate without discrimination ".

Malaysia announced on Jan. 16 that it would hold no future events, including Israel or its representatives, as host of Israeli athletes as a "crime".