Libya Fencing Team Withdraws from World Championships to Not Face Israel
The Fencing World Championships is taking place in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.
According to TRT Arabic, the Libyan team had achieved very good results and reached the semifinal round of the contest.
The decision for team’s withdrawal from the competition was reportedly made so that it won’t have to face the Israeli team in the final round.
It was in line with opposition to normalization of ties with the Israeli occupation.
Fifteen Arab teams, namely Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Libya, Tunisia and the UAE are present in the contest.
Libya’s fencing team is ranked second in Africa and 19 globally in the classification of the game.
In recent years, many athletes from Muslim and Arab countries have refused to compete against Israeli opponents in international competitions in support of the Palestinian cause.
Several Arab competitors decided to do so, despite their government's decision to normalize relations with the occupying regime.
