Amid the Paris 2024 Olympics, Israel’s national anthem faced boos from the audience just before their Olympic football match against Mali on Wednesday night, as reported by the Associated Press.
In the context of heightened global tensions and significant safety concerns, including large-scale protest threats at the stadium, the Israeli football team entered Parc des Princes stadium with a substantial police escort comprising motorbike riders and riot police vans.
Despite the 48,000-capacity stadium remaining relatively calm, the Israeli national anthem, Hatikvah, was drowned out by boos and whistles from the crowd.
The stadium’s speaker system notably increased in volume, seemingly to counteract the jeers.
Conversely, Mali’s anthem was met with enthusiastic singing from its supporters.
Throughout the game, Israeli players were continuously booed whenever they touched the ball.
Further controversy arose when security had to intervene in a heated altercation among fans, involving a woman holding a Palestinian flag, accompanied by two others with similar flags.
These events occur more than nine months into Israel’s war against Hamas, which began after a Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 that killed 1,200 people.
Israel responded with its most intense airstrikes in Gaza. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, more than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed, as reported by AP.
The rising death toll has sparked international calls for a ceasefire and deepened divisions over the conflict.
Adding to the tension, Mali has severed diplomatic ties with Israel and opposes the current Israeli military actions in Gaza.
France, hosting the Olympics from July 26 to August 11 with 10,500 athletes from 206 countries, faces immense pressure to ensure the safety of the Games due to its history of extremist attacks and the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.
French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin and Paris Police Chief Laurent Nunez, present during the soccer game, have previously assured that Israeli athletes would receive 24/7 protection from the elite police unit GIGN, tasked with counterterrorism and VIP security, according AP.
“Police forces will have no vacation this summer in order to guarantee everyone’s safety and in particular, delegations deemed sensitive such as the Israeli delegation for which we have reinforced security thanks to our elite units,” said National Police spokesperson Sonia Fibleuil earlier Wednesday. “All the matches deemed sensitive will see heightened security with special forces and elite units but also a wider security apparatus with special resources.”
To bolster security, Paris will deploy 35,000 police officers daily during the Olympics, with up to 45,000 for the opening ceremony.
Additionally, 10,000 soldiers will be involved in security operations, with reinforcements from over 40 countries contributing at least 1,900 police officers.
“We owe this security to the whole world,” Darmanin stated. “The threats to our country are the threats that concern the Western world.”
