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After the Munich massacre, the Paris police are increasing security for the Israeli Olympic participants

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Heavy security escorted Israeli athletes en route to the Olympic Village in Paris as pro-Palestinian protests erupted in the French capital on Friday, CNN reported. French officials, acknowledging the increased risk to Israeli participants and attacks against them at past Games, said they had insisted that Israeli participants be protected around the clock.

French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said in a statement translated by CNN on Friday that he had “proposed to the President of the Republic that the Israeli delegation be placed under the full protection of the French police 24 hours a day.”

France has called in international police forces to support patrols in the capital amid growing fears of terrorism. Several people have already been arrested who are planning an attack on the Games.

In addition, the Israeli delegation received death threats in the run-up to the Games.

“We have made this decision because Israeli athletes – we have known this since the Munich Games, of course, but also recently – are particularly affected by attacks,” Darmanin explained.

Paris 2024 Olympic Games – Opening Ceremony – Paris, France – July 26, 2024. Athletes from Israel aboard a boat in the floating parade on the Seine river during the opening ceremony. (Source: ALBERT GEA/REUTERS)

Around 45,000 police officers and thousands of soldiers were deployed for the opening show in Paris as part of a huge security operation. Police set up a security zone along the river, erected metal barriers to cordon off neighborhoods and required authorization for entry – ID cards with QR codes.

“There are more police officers than people, I don’t feel in danger,” said Jean Landerretche, a 19-year-old biochemistry student from Paris.

“I want the world to see how beautiful this city is,” said Landerretche, who was looking forward to attending the opening ceremony, the first to be held outside a stadium.

Learning from past mistakes

At the 1972 Olympic Games in Germany, Palestinian terrorists from “Black September” broke into the Israeli student dormitory, shot dead some of the athletes and took others hostage. Despite the hostage-taking, the games continued. The attempt by the German police to free the hostages failed, and the terrorists slaughtered the hostages and a German policeman.

Israeli Olympian Esther Roth-Shachamorov, who is still alive, told CNN that she returned to Israel with the bodies of her teammates.

“I kept wondering what was going on here,” she explained, describing her thoughts during the return flight.

Since October 7, when Hamas launched attacks on southern Israel and murdered over 1,200 people, Israeli intelligence agencies such as the Mossad and the Shin Bet have thwarted an increasing number of planned attacks on Israelis and Jews abroad.

At the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö this year, considerable efforts were made to ensure the safety of Israeli participants amid violent protests outside.

Eden Golan, who performed on behalf of Israel after a dispute over her song choice, revealed that she was disguised for her safety during her longest stay in Sweden.

One athlete spoke out about the protests that erupted against their arrival, telling CNN that the reaction to their presence was “something we’re used to and I feel really safe. My job is to connect everyone through sport.”



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