British comedian Eddie Izzard was told he was not welcome at a marathon in the occupied West Bank after refusing to respect the cultural boycott of Israel.
The cultural boycott is part of the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign initiated by more than 170 Palestinian groups in 2005 in protest against Israel鈥檚 apartheid policies towards Palestinians
As part of the BDS campaign, Palestinian activists had his gig in , scheduled for March 30.
Izzard ignored these calls. But days earlier, he that he would be taking in the annual Palestine Marathon, held the next day.
On March 30, campaigners that Izzard鈥檚 registration had been cancelled by the marathon鈥檚 organisers, who confirmed the cancellation on social media.
The marathon began in , with part of its going along Israel鈥檚 wall in the West Bank. It has been organised annually since 2013 to highlight the many restrictions placed on Palestinians鈥 freedom of movement.
The accused Izzard of whitewashing Israeli occupation and apartheid and attempting an unconvincing 鈥渂alancing act鈥.
鈥淓ddie Izzard is not welcome in the Palestine marathon after he has crossed our boycott picket line,鈥 the group said. 鈥淭oday, performing in Tel Aviv is equivalent to performing in Sun City [South Africa] during the time of apartheid.鈥
[Abridged from .]