Palestinians object to Israelis running in 'peace run'

(JNS.org) A group of Israeli runners taking part in a "peace run" was forced to drop out after Palestinian objections.

The six Israelis were asked to drop out of Australian ultra-marathon runner Pat Farmer's 900-mile "peace run" from Lebanon to Jerusalem during a stretch through Judea and Samaria due to objections by the Palestinian Olympic Committee.

Farmer said he was "not happy" about the move because it went against the spirit of the run.

The Israeli runners, whose participation was organized by the Yesha Council and the land rights organizations Regavim, decided to continue their run without the group and concluded at Samaria-based Ariel University.

"It's very sad that the Palestinian Authority would sooner attempt to hide the 375,000 Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria, instead of throwing their support behind a genuine attempt to promote peace and coexistence," Ari Briggs, director of Regavim, told Israel National News.

"True peace is made between people and not by ignoring one and another," he said.