Pro-Palestine activists have called for Israel-Premier Tech to be confronted by "more protests than ever" at both the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France this year, in light of Israel's ongoing invasion of Gaza.
In a post on the official Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) site on Monday, the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel wrote: "We call for more protests than ever along the race routes of the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France, which will start from Italy this year."
The organisation refers to Israel-Premier Tech as being "Israeli government-sponsored", stating that the outfit serves to "sportswash" what it calls a "75-year-long regime of military occupation and apartheid".
Israel-Premier Tech is not directly connected to the state, but the squad has a strong association with Israel through its co-owners, Israeli-Canadian billionaire Sylvan Adams and Israeli businessman Ron Baron. The team declined to comment on Monday's BDS post.
At least 33,207 Palestinians have been killed and 75,668 others have been injured in Israel's invasion of Gaza, according to the Palestinian health ministry. On 7 October last year, Hamas' attack in southern Israel saw about 1,140 people killed and 240 others taken as hostages.
This year, Israel-Premier Tech has removed the name "Israel" from its team vehicles, as part of the ProTeam's "precautionary measures" due to Israel's ongoing invasion of Gaza.
The team bus, race vehicles, and other branded elements instead simply have the squad's stylised Star of David and "PT" for Premier Tech on them, along with other partners.
The team's full name is still present on the squad's racing kit.
"We continue to race proudly as Israel – Premier Tech with the team name and Israel branding on the racing kit as it was in previous years," a spokesperson for the team said at the time. "As previously stated, the team adopted a number of precautionary measures ahead of the 2024 season.
"The decision was made to use the IPT monogram, comprised of the Star of David and the Premier Tech “PT”, on the team vehicles and other branded elements.
"The team monogram has been an integral part of the Israel – Premier Tech brand identity since 2023 when it was first adopted on the back of the team jersey and this vehicle branding has been on display since IPT’s first races in Europe in February this year."
At the end of last year, it emerged that the team had issued a blank training kit to riders for the 2024 season which they can wear when training alone if required, in response to growing safety concerns.
There were protests outside the team's bus after Paris-Roubaix on Sunday, according to Wielerflits.
