Algerian Judoka Pulls Out of Paris Olympics to Avoid ’Israeli’ Opponent

By Staff, Agencies

Algerian judoka Messaoud Redouane Dris has withdrawn from his first match of the 2024 Paris Olympics after being slated to compete against "Israeli" judoka Tohar Butbul.

The International Judo Federation issued a brief statement on Sunday, declaring Butbul the winner by walkover.

Dris was officially disqualified for missing weight on the day before he was scheduled to compete against Butbul. The match was set to be the first in the men’s 73-kilogram division on Monday.

This marks the second consecutive Olympics in which an Algerian judoka has withdrawn right before facing Butbul. In the 2021 Tokyo Games, Algeria’s Fethi Nourine withdrew to avoid a potential second-round matchup with Butbul. Nourine explicitly cited his support for Palestine as the reason for his decision, leading to a 10-year suspension for him and his coach, Amar Benikhlef, by the International Judo Federation in September 2021.

Algeria does not officially recognize "Israel". "Israel’s" presence at the Paris Games has stirred protests due to the entity's genocidal war on the besieged Gaza Strip. Despite global outcry against "Israel’s" participation, the International Olympic Committee and the French government have firmly backed the “Israeli” entity.

Before the games began, a US-based rights advocacy group called for "Israel" to be barred from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games following a recent ruling by the International Court of Justice [ICJ] about the occupying regime’s barbaric crimes against Palestinians in Gaza.

Fadi Quran, the executive director at Avaaz, made this statement in a social media post last Tuesday after the ICJ issued an advisory opinion asserting that "Israel" is committing apartheid and systematic discrimination against Palestinians and has effectively annexed large portions of their territory through its occupation.

Iran has also condemned "Israel’s" participation in the Olympic Games due to its months-long genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza. “Announcing the reception and protection of the apartheid and terrorist Zionist entity’s convoy only means giving legitimacy to the child killers.

They do not deserve to be present at the Paris Olympics because of the war against the innocent people of Gaza,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a post on X.

"Israeli" Olympians arrived in Paris amid mounting international outrage over the high Palestinian civilian casualties and the unfolding humanitarian crisis in the besieged and bombarded Palestinian territory.

"Israel’s" bloody onslaught on Gaza has martyred 39,324 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and left 90,830 others injured.