Inside the Palestine-Israel truce at Paris 2024: ‘Treat us as humans beings’

At Paris 2024, a fleeting truce between Israel and Palestine. “I have no problem with any human being except when you step on our necks,” Yazan al-Bawwab, proudly flying the flag for Palestine, told Telegraph Sport after finishing third in the opening 100m backstroke heat.

Under the same roof, and in the fourth heat is Adam Maraana, of Israel, who finished fourth with a faster time than Al-Bawwan. Neither qualified for the semi-finals, as it turned out, but there are no hostilities between the pair as they pass one another and even change nearby one another.

It was probably the closest a Palestinian athlete would come to an Israeli counterpart at these games. There are only eight athletes on the Palestinian team in total. Yet a potential tinderbox at La Défense Arena remains timid.

After more than nine months of war in Gaza sparked by the Hamas terror attack, Al-Bawwab says he has lost count of family members and friends killed. But before a question was asked, he said he had a “message of peace”.

“I’m very, very honoured and proud to be at an Olympic Games,” he told journalists immediately after finishing his race. “This is the only event where it’s fair. The rules, the regulations — everybody has to abide by [them] and I’m very, very happy to represent a country, which is not recognised in this country, to raise my flag. To have time just for Palestine, a lane just for Palestine. I can play sports like everybody else. I look like a kid from Gaza.”

With no pools at all in Palestine, learn Al-Bawwab trained in Dubai to qualify for these Games. He is Saudi-born, in fact, but explained his heritage is as a Palestinian refugee. “Because of sports, you listen to me, and you care about what I say,” he said. “But nobody cares about what people in Palestine say, so this is my message of peace: please treat us as human beings. We deserve the same rights as everybody else. We want to play sports like everybody else.”

As Al-Bawwab was talking to reporters in the mixed zone, Maraana walked past behind him undetected. Al-Bawwab stopped short of suggesting his Israeli rival should not be allowed to compete despite the Palestine Olympic Committee (POC) handing documents to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) last week applying for Israel to be blocked altogether.

Israeli athletes accused of visiting troops

The Palestinians have accused Israeli athletes of visiting soldiers stationed in battalions near Gaza to “encourage the Israeli army”. One judo champion is said to have posted on social media pictures of several signed missiles.

The International Olympic Committee has recognised the state of Palestine since 1995. Three quarters of UN members also now recognise Palestine, but the US, Britain and the host of this year’s games do not.

Al-Bawwab, 24, said, “I don’t talk about politics”. “Bringing politics into sport is a big mistake,” he said. “I have no problem with any human being, except when you step on our necks. That’s when I have a problem. That’s all I have to say. Treat us as human beings. I’ll treat you back as a human being. That’s it.”

Al-Bawwab, who lives in Dubai, swam with a small Palestinian flag painted on his chest and said that the presence of the team and their flag at the Games had prompted “95 per cent positive” reactions.

‘I’m Palestinian and proud’

However, he said some other athletes had “made fun of us”. “We’ve had, in other competitions, people telling us to take off our flag, take off your shirt, we don’t want to see Palestine on it,” he said.

“Imagine if it was your country? But, hey, I’m Palestinian and I’m proud, and I don’t care if somebody doesn’t want me to wear my flag, you know, deal with it,” he added.

Of friends and family he has lost, he said: “I’m not going to talk about the atrocities of what happened to them, but just know I’ve had family members being killed, but I’m here.”

Al Bawwab, who has studied in the UK, has been involved in an organisation which aims to improve facilities for Palestinian swimmers. He said he hoped his story will be an inspiration.

“I have to fund myself,” he explained. “I run a furniture factory in Dubai. I have many employees but my dad was a refugee so he let me know that if you’re not going to be strong yourself, nobody’s gonna give it to you.”