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Palestinians call minute's silence "racism"

July 27, 2012 10:09

ByAnonymous, Anonymous

1 min read

The head of the Palestinian Olympic Committee has labelled as “racism” the minute’s silence campaign, in memory of the 11 Israeli athletes murdered at the 1972 Munich Olympics .

In a letter to International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge, Jibril Rajoub said: “Sports are a bridge for love, communication and the spreading of peace between nations and should not be used for divisiveness and the spread of racism,” according to the Times of Israel, citing the media watchdog group Palestinian Media Watch.

Rajoub has been arrested several times by the Israeli authorities, firstly in 1968, on suspicion of aiding fleeing Egyptian officers where, after his release, he joined the Palestinian terrorist group Fatah. His tasks were to assist terrorists and build up cells in the Hebron hills.

Two years later, he was arrested for throwing a grenade at an Israeli army bus near Hebron. Despite being sentenced to life in prison, he was released in 1985 as one of 1,015 Arab prisoners exchanged for three Israeli hostages. He was soon re-arrested for resuming terrorist activities and released seven months later.