International Desk (EFE).- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated the Israel-Premier Tech team and its owner, Sylvan Adams, on Friday «for not giving in to hatred» during the Vuelta a España, where there have been protests against the Israeli team’s participation in the cycling race.
«Great job to Sylvan and Israel’s cycling team for not giving in to hate and intimidation. You make Israel proud!» Netanyahu said on Twitter.
The presence of the Israeli team’s riders has been met with demonstrations at different stages of the Vuelta, with people waving Palestinian flags and holding signs that read «Stop the genocide».
On Wednesday, for security reasons, a protest even forced the eleventh stage in Bilbao (northern Spain) to be shortened and left without a winner.
Adams has dismissed the possibility that his team will simply be renamed Premier Tech.
«We will never race without the name Israel,» he said on the Israeli channel Sport Channel.
The executive claims to have received the support of David Lappartient, president of the International Cycling Union (UCI), and also emphasizes his intention not to abandon the race, stating that if they do, it will not only be «the end» of their team but also «of all the others.»
The thirteenth stage of the Vuelta was interrupted 12.1 km from the finish line when a group of people protesting against the presence of Israel Premier Tech in the Spanish race and in favor of the Palestinian cause stormed the road.
At the time of the incident, the Ecuadorian Jefferson Cepeda (Movistar Team), the Luxembourger Bob Jungels (Ineos Grenadiers), and the Kazakh Nico Vinokourov (XDS Astana) were in a breakaway, very close to the start of the ascent to Angliru, the stage’s finish line.
The stage resumed immediately, with the breakaway still leading the race and the peloton less than 2 minutes behind.
In the Hands of the International Cycling Union
On Thursday, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said he was in favor of expelling the Israel Premier-Tech cycling team from the Vuelta a España, but clarified that the decision does not correspond to the government but to the International Cycling Union.
In an interview with the public radio station Radio Nacional de España (RNE), Albares was asked about the issue, which is a subject of public debate in Spain due to the protests that have been taking place at different stages of the competition.
Albares cited the expulsion of Russia from sporting competitions over the invasion of Ukraine as an example, concluding: «We cannot continue to have a normal relationship with Israel as if nothing is happening.»
«Because we have to send the message to Israel, to Israeli society. They have to understand that Europe and Israel can only have a relationship—as Article Two of the Association Council says—when human rights are respected, because democratic countries are based on and interact in this way,» the Spanish Foreign Minister justified.
Security Incidents
The security of the Vuelta a España may be reinforced at each stage when police forces consider that the protests against the participation of an Israeli team in the race pose a risk to cyclists and fans.
On Thursday, Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska assured that the security of the Vuelta «will be guaranteed, and the Civil Guard, the National Police, and all the planned deployments are there for that.»
However, sources from his department have indicated to EFE that if the intelligence services of the state security forces assess that incidents could occur during a particular stage, the fixed deployment will be reinforced with the territorial units of both forces, depending on whether it is a National Police or Civil Guard jurisdiction.
Pro-Palestine groups have been staging several protests in recent days to demand that the Israel-Premier Tech team leave the competition.
The first took place on August 27 when a man, who was arrested by the Mossos d’Esquadra (Catalan Police), blocked the path of the Israeli team’s riders in the team time trial in Figueres (Girona). EFE
int-ags/mcd
