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The Lebanese delegation at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games refused to board the same bus as the Israeli delegation on their way to the Maracana Stadium Friday for the opening ceremony of the games, according to members of both sports teams.
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The Lebanese athletes were already inside the bus when the Israeli delegation approached the vehicle. "I ordered the closing of the door," said Salim Al Haj Nicolas, head of the Lebanese delegation, "but the Israeli athletes insisted on getting in."
Organizers intervened and proposed the two sides travel in separate buses. According to Udi Gal, a member of the Israeli delegation, he refused the alternative and argued it went against Olympic security protocols.
"We insisted on getting on the bus, explaining that if the Lebanese refused to be with us then it was them who had to take another bus," he said.
In the end, both delegations travelled to the ceremony in two different vehicles.
Israel and Lebanon have technically been at war since 1948, when Lebanon joined other Arab nations who were against the creation of the Israeli state. The countries haven't signed a peace accord and military hostilities have continue to this day.
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