IOI members vote to bar Israel from computing Olympiad over Gaza war

Israel has been barred from participating in the 2025 International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI), following a vote by the to impose sanctions on the country over its war on Gaza.

The prestigious computer science competition's General Assembly members voted with a two-thirds majority to ban competitors from participating under the Israeli flag.

"Members of the community requested that the IOI respond to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza caused by the ongoing conflict. During IOI 2024, the General Assembly debated many options at length," a statement from IOI said.

"Specifically, the action means that beginning in 2025, Israel will not be recognized as a participating delegation at IOI, but four contestants from Israel may still participate under the IOI flag."

Despite the offer of allowing Israeli participants to still participate, Israel's Education Ministry on Wednesday said it was "not going to happen".

"The Israeli team will carry the Israeli flag proudly on the way to many more victories and international achievements… The ministry is examining, in cooperation with the Foreign Ministry, decisive measures on the issue," the ministry statement was quoted by the Times of Israel as saying.

Calls for Israel to be barred from international competitions have intensified amid its assault on Gaza, where over 41,000 Palestinians have been killed.

Ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest in May, activists and participants raised concerns about Israel's participation, and calls were also raised for Israel to be barred from the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Earlier this month, United Nations rights experts warned that Israel risked becoming an international "pariah" over its "genocide" in Gaza, suggesting that the country's UN membership should be called into question.

"I think that it is unavoidable for Israel to become a pariah in the face of its continuous, relentless vilifying assault on the United Nations, [and] Palestinians," said Francesca Albanese, the UN's special rapporteur on the rights situation in occupied Palestine.