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International Bowls Organization Reverses Ban on Israel at UK Championship After Facing Backlash
People hold an Israeli flag as a helicopter carrying hostages released amid a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel arrives at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, Tel Aviv district, Israel, Nov. 28, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
An international bowls organization on Tuesday revoked its ban against Israelis from competing in the upcoming Bowls World Indoor Championships in the United Kingdom following global outcry.
The World Bowls Tour (WBT) earlier this week disinvited three Israeli athletes from competing in the international championships set to take place Jan. 10-26 at the Potters Resorts Hopton-on-Sea in Norfolk. The move affected Daniel Alomin in the singles, and Amnon Amar and Itai Rigbi in the open pairs. Bowls is a sport in which a player rolls a ball, called a bowl, toward a smaller stationary ball, which is called a jack. The object of the game is to roll one’s bowl closer to the jack than that of their opponents.
The WBT suggested on Sunday that the ban was enforced after they faced pressure from pro-Palestinian groups because of Israel’s involvement in the WBT Scottish International Open in Scotland in November 2024. The organization also claimed security concerns as the main reason for the ban.
On Tuesday, the WBT said in a new statement that the three Israeli players are welcome to compete in the UK competition next month following “significant additional security measures.”
“The WBT acknowledges that this has been a difficult time for all involved and we are pleased that we have been able to achieve an outcome that includes players for all supporting countries,” the organization added.
In a separate lengthy statement, which was not publicly shared but obtained by The Guardian, the WBT also apologized for the initial ban.
“We would firstly wish to extend our sincere apologies to both you and to PBA Israel, for any upset or offense that we have caused by the withdrawal of the invitation to the three members of PBA Israel in advance of the January 2025 championships. This was absolutely not our intention; however as we made clear, we had found ourselves in a very difficult position in relation to the security of the venue and to the competitors and other attendees,” the statement read.
“However, over the past 48 hours we have been exploring practical ways in which our concerns could be overcome, so as to enable the invitation to PBA Israel to be reinstated,” the statement continued. “We are pleased to say that following discussions with various partner agencies, we have been able to confirm today an increase in the security presence at the event. The WBT Board is accordingly satisfied that this increased level of security which will be in place is sufficient to be able to welcome the PBA Israel Team to the event starting on 10 January 2025.”
The WBT concluded by explaining that it “felt compelled” to initially ban Israeli athletes from next month’s competition to ensure “the safety and security” of everyone involved in the tournament. “Following significant feedback and credible concerns regarding the potential risks posed to competitors we had felt it necessary to act responsibly, so to ensure the wellbeing of everyone involved,” the organization added.
The WBT board of directors announced the initial ban against Israeli athletes on Sunday in a released statement that was posted on Facebook. They said the decision was made following “recent challenges” experienced by the WBT directors regarding Israel’s participation in the WBT Scottish International Open.
“There has been a significant escalation in related political concerns. These issues have been extended to the upcoming World Indoor Championships,” they noted. “As a result of the intensity of the situation, the WBT Board, in consultants with our event partners and other relevant stakeholders, have made the difficult decision to withdraw the invitation for Israel to participate.”
“This decision was not taken lightly and has been made in the best interests of the events [sic] success and integrity,” they added. “Bowls is, and always has been, a sport that unites people and this choice reflects our commitment to protecting the Championships and ensuring they run smoothly for everyone involved. We remain hopeful that circumstances will allow us to welcome PBA Israel to the WBT stage in the future.”
World Bowls, which is an international sports federation for the sport of bowls not affiliated with WBT, said it had no connection or involvement in the decision to ban Israel.
The ban was widely condemned by Jewish groups and supporters earlier this week. The Board of Deputies of British Jews said, “There can be no justification for this overt act of discrimination against Israeli participants, who are excluded solely on the basis of their nationality.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA), which is a British volunteer-led charity dedicated to exposing and countering antisemitism, claimed the WBT “caved to pressure from the anti-Israel mob.”
“World Bowls Tour says that bowls is a sport that unites people. But that apparently does not apply to the Jews, who are excluded,” a CAA spokesperson said. “This decision is a disgrace to international sport and sends the message that racist intimidation works. Athletes should be judged by their skill, not their race, ethnicity, or nationality. Unfortunately, that principle does not apply to Jewish athletes.”
UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) wrote to the directors of WBT and pointed out that the ban is a clear breach of the UK’s Equality Act. Jonathan Turner, chief executive of UKLFI, warned WBT that if it did not reverse the ban, the Israeli athletes could file legal proceedings against the organization for breach of the Equality Act. UKLFI similarly contacted John Potter of Potters Resorts and Ambassador Cruise Lines, the sponsor of the Bowls World Indoor Championships, about the allegedly illegal ban.
Local MP Rupert Lowe, whose constituency includes the venue where the Bowls World Indoor Championships will take place in January, said he was “genuinely disgusted” by the ban. He said about the Israeli athletes: “As far as I am concerned as the local MP, these individuals are welcome in our constituency.”
“This is following a concerted campaign from the pro-Palestine mob to have these Israelis barred from competing,” he added. “What message does this send? If the mob screams and shouts, they can get competitors of a certain nationality banned from entry? It is insanity, pure insanity. The organizers are cowards. Sport should be a unifier, and it should be above politics.”
After WBT reversed its ban following the public outcry, Lowe thanked the organization for making “the right decision.”
“This is how you deal with the bullies taking to the streets of OUR country every weekend. Stand up to them, don’t accept their hateful tactics,” he wrote in a post on X. “The Israeli team will be welcomed in Great Yarmouth, and I wish them well for the event. The World Bowls Tour have made the right decision. I thank them for that, and their apology to the individuals involved. Wonderful news — 2025 is the year we fight back against the hate mob.”
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B-2 Bombers Moving to Guam Amid Middle East Tensions, US Officials Say
FILE PHOTO: A U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit bomber takes off from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam January 11, 2018. Picture taken January 11, 2018. U.S. Air Force/Airman 1st Class Gerald Willis/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
The United States is moving B-2 bombers to the Pacific island of Guam, two US officials told Reuters on Saturday, as President Donald Trump weighs whether the United States should take part in Israel’s strikes against Iran.
It was unclear whether the bomber deployment is tied to Middle East tensions.
The B-2 can be equipped to carry America’s 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, designed to destroy targets deep underground. That is the weapon that experts say could be used to strike Iran‘s nuclear program, including Fordow.
The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, declined to disclose any further details. One official said no forward orders had been given yet to move the bombers beyond Guam. They did not say how many B-2 bombers are being moved.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Experts and officials are closely watching to see whether the B-2 bombers will move forward to a US-British military base on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia. Experts say that Diego Garcia is in an ideal position to operate in the Middle East.
The United States had B-2 bombers on Diego Garcia up until last month, when they were replaced with B-52 bombers.
Israel said on Saturday it had killed a veteran Iranian commander during attacks by both sides in the more than week-long air war, while Tehran said it would not negotiate over its nuclear program while under threat.
Israel says Iran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons, while Iran says its atomic program is only for peaceful purposes.
Trump has said he would take up to two weeks to decide whether the United States should enter the conflict on Israel’s side, enough time “to see whether or not people come to their senses,” he said.
Reuters was first to report this week the movement of a large number of tanker aircraft to Europe and other military assets to the Middle East, including the deployment of more fighter jets.
An aircraft carrier in the Indo-Pacific is also heading to the Middle East.
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Nuclear Diplomacy Stuck, Israel Says it Killed Top Iran Commander
Smoke rises following an Israeli attack in Tehran, Iran, June 18, 2025. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Iran deems European proposals to curb its nuclear program unrealistic and a hurdle to agreement, a senior Iranian official said on Saturday, while Israel said it killed a veteran Iranian commander during attacks by both sides.
The more than week-long air war between longtime foes Israel and Iran continued with reports of strikes on an Iranian nuclear facility. The US was weighing whether to back Israel in the conflict while other powers urged de-escalation.
Iran‘s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi met British, French and German counterparts, plus the EU, on Friday in Geneva in search of a path back to diplomacy and a possible ceasefire.
But proposals made by the European powers were “unrealistic,” the senior Iranian official told Reuters, saying that insistence on them would not bring agreement closer.
“In any case, Iran will review the European proposals in Tehran and present its responses in the next meeting,” the official said, adding that zero enrichment was a dead end and Tehran would not negotiate over its defensive capabilities.
Israel launched attacks on June 13 saying Iran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons, while Iran says its atomic program is only for peaceful purposes. Israel is widely assumed to possess nuclear weapons, which it neither confirms nor denies.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that Saeed Izadi, who led the Palestine Corps of the Quds Force, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ overseas arm, was killed in a strike on an apartment in the city of Qom.
Calling his killing a “major achievement for Israeli intelligence and the Air Force”, Katz said Izadi had financed and armed the Palestinian militant group Hamas ahead of its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which triggered the war in Gaza.
The Revolutionary Guards said five of its members died in attacks on Khorramabad, according to Iranian media. They did not mention Izadi, who was on US and British sanctions lists, but said Israel had also attacked a building in Qom, with initial reports of a 16-year-old killed and two people injured.
HUNDREDS KILLED
At least 430 people have been killed and 3,500 injured in Iran since Israel began its attacks, Iranian state-run Nour News said, citing the health ministry.
In Israel, 24 civilians have been killed by Iranian missile attacks, according to local authorities, in the worst conflict between the longtime enemies.
At a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul, Araqchi said Israel‘s aggression, which he said had indications of US involvement, should stop so Iran can “come back to diplomacy.”
“It is obvious that I can’t go to negotiations with the US when our people are under bombardments under the support of the US,” he told reporters on the sidelines, before meeting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.
The top Iranian diplomat said US involvement in the conflict would be “very dangerous.” Araqchi is set to visit Moscow, Iran‘s ally, on Monday.
President Donald Trump has said he would take up to two weeks to decide whether the United States should enter the conflict on Israel‘s side, enough time “to see whether or not people come to their senses,” he said.
Iran would be able to have a nuclear weapon “within a matter of weeks, or certainly within a matter of months,” he said on Friday, adding: “We can’t let that happen.”
Yet in March, Tulsi Gabbard, his national intelligence director, testified to Congress that the US intelligence community judged that Tehran was not working on a nuclear warhead.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said that a centrifuge manufacturing workshop at the Isfahan nuclear facility, one of Iran‘s biggest, was hit – but added it contained no nuclear material.
Gulf Cooperation Council ambassadors expressed concerns to UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi about the safety of nuclear facilities close to their countries and “dangerous repercussions” of targeting them, Qatar state news agency said.
Israel said it was attacking military infrastructure.
INTERCEPTIONS OVER TEL AVIV
Early on Saturday, air raid sirens were triggered across parts of central Israel and in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, with missile interceptions visible over Tel Aviv and explosions echoing. There were no reports of casualties.
Those killed in Iran include the military’s top echelon and nuclear scientists. Israel said it also killed a second commander of the Guards’ overseas arm, whom it identified as Benham Shariyari, during an overnight strike.
Iran‘s health minister, Mohammadreza Zafarqandi, said Israel has attacked three hospitals during the conflict, killing two health workers and a child, and has targeted six ambulances, according to Fars.
Asked about such reports, an Israeli military official said that only military targets were being struck, though there may have been collateral damage in some incidents.
An Iranian missile hit a hospital in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba on Thursday.
Turkey, Russia and China have demanded immediate de-escalation.
Despite the downbeat assessment from the senior Iranian official, French President Emmanuel Macron said he and Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian agreed on a Saturday call to accelerate talks.
Israel says it will not stop attacks until it dismantles Iran‘s nuclear program and ballistic missile capabilities, which it views as an existential threat, saying this could take more than a few weeks.
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Majority of French People Oppose Macron’s Push to Recognize a Palestinian State, New Survey Finds
French President Emmanuel Macron delivers the keynote address at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore, May 30, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Edgar Su
Nearly 80 percent of French citizens oppose President Emmanuel Macron’s push to recognize a Palestinian state, according to a new study that underscores widespread public resistance to the controversial diplomatic initiative.
Last week, Macron announced the postponement of a United Nations conference aimed at advancing international recognition of a Palestinian state as part of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with no new date set.
The UN summit — originally scheduled for June 16–18 — was delayed after Israel launched a sweeping preemptive strike on Iran, targeting military installations and nuclear facilities in what officials said was an effort to neutralize an imminent nuclear threat.
Last month, Macron said that recognizing “Palestine” was “not only a moral duty but a political necessity.” The comments followed him saying in April that France was making plans to recognize a Palestinian state at a UN conference it would co-host with Saudi Arabia. Israeli and French Jewish leaders sharply criticized the announcement, describing the decision as a reward for terrorism and a “boost” for Hamas.
The French people largely seem to agree now is not the right time for such a move. A survey conducted by the French Institute of Public Opinion (IFOP) on behalf of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF), the main representative body of French Jews, found that 78 percent of respondents opposed a “hasty, immediate, and unconditional recognition of a Palestinian state.”
Sondage Crif x Ifop : “Le regard des Français sur la reconnaissance par la France de l’État palestinien”
Une large majorité de Français (78 %) s’oppose à une reconnaissance immédiate et sans condition de l’État palestinien. Parmi eux, près de la moitié (47 %) estiment qu’une… pic.twitter.com/AX9gP6eMLe
— CRIF (@Le_CRIF) June 17, 2025
France’s initiative comes after Spain, Norway, Ireland, and Slovenia officially recognized a Palestinian state last year, claiming that such a move would contribute to fostering a two-state solution and promote lasting peace in the region.
According to IFOP’s recent survey, however, nearly half of French people (47 percent) believe that recognition of a Palestinian state should only be considered after the release of the remaining hostages captured by Hamas during the Palestinian terrorist group’s invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, while 31 percent oppose any short-term recognition regardless of future developments.
The survey also reveals deep concerns about the consequences of such a premature recognition, with 51 percent of respondents fearing a resurgence of antisemitism in France and 50 percent believing it could strengthen Hamas’s position in the Middle East.
France has experienced an ongoing record surge in antisemitic incidents, including violent assaults, following Hamas’s Oct. 7 atrocities, amid the ensuing war in Gaza.
According to local media reports, France’s recognition of a Palestinian state at the UN conference was expected to be contingent on several conditions, including a truce in Gaza, the release of hostages held by Hamas, reforms within the Palestinian Authority (PA) — which is expected to take control from Hamas after the war — economic recovery, and the end of Hamas’s terrorist rule in the war-torn enclave.
The PA has not only been widely accused of corruption and condemned by the international community for its “pay-for-slay” program, which rewards terrorists and their families for attacks against Israelis, but also lacks public support among Palestinians, with only 40 percent supporting its return to govern the Gaza Strip after the war.
Out of the 27 total European Union member states, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Sweden have also recognized a Palestinian state.
Meanwhile, Germany, Portugal, and the UK have all stated that the time is not right for recognizing a Palestinian state.
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