Climbers for Palestine: “World Climbing Failed a Historic Test for the Sport”

A few days after World Climbing’s extraordinary general assembly blocked a vote on suspending the Israeli, Russian, and Belarusian federations, Climbers for Palestine and Grimpe Solidaire Internationale (GSI) publish an op-ed in our pages. The groups condemn a last-minute decision to combine several motions, a voting procedure changed without meaningful debate, and possible collusion within the executive board of climbing’s international governing body.

The Palestinian flag was hung on the peaks of Chamonix during the Climbing World Cup © a group of anonymous mountaineers

On July 23, 2026, World Climbing, the international governing body for competitive climbing, failed a historic test for the sport. Instead, it became mired in a bureaucratic mess that fooled no one. By quietly combining motions and restructuring the voting process, World Climbing denied its members the opportunity to hold a legitimate democratic vote on suspending the Israeli, Russian, and Belarusian federations—even though those suspensions had received broad support at the previous general assembly on April 23.

Backroom Maneuvering

In early July, three national federations submitted motions intended to prevent that vote from taking place. The Cyprus Mountaineering Climbing Federation first filed a motion calling for the vote to be canceled and, among other things, for the Russian and Belarusian federations to be reinstated.

Then, on the filing deadline set by World Climbing, USA Climbing and Sport Climbing Australia submitted identical, word-for-word motions. Their proposal would replace separate votes on each federation’s suspension with a framework based on “objective criteria, political neutrality, proportionality, nondiscrimination, and transparency”—the same principles already written into World Climbing’s governing documents.

Representatives of both federations hold vice presidencies on World Climbing’s executive board, the 12-member body that makes the organization’s key decisions. Were they genuinely trying to clarify how the rules should be interpreted, or were they simply trying to stop the vote?

World Climbing’s executive board then decided, in its own words, to combine the spirit of those “three” motions and change the voting process accordingly. The federations were informed of these major changes only 24 hours before the extraordinary general assembly began. The federations we have spoken with say the late notice gave them almost no time to assess the consequences or challenge the new procedure.

The motion drafted by the executive board also changed how the vote would work. Instead of holding a standard yes-no-abstain vote on each of the three federations, World Climbing created a decision tree in which the unified motion would be voted on first.

Then there was the unusual appearance of Pierre Ducrey, the International Olympic Committee’s new sports director, at the extraordinary general assembly. Ducrey spoke about the new Paragraph 5 of the Fundamental Principles of Olympism, which states: “The IOC’s role is to remain neutral at all times and resist all governmental, cultural, societal, and economic pressure.” He addressed the assembly immediately before the vote.

Climbing also still faces the possibility of being downgraded to an additional sport at the 2032 Brisbane Olympics. World Climbing President Marco Scolaris acknowledged that risk in a July 12 interview with Vertige Media: “We’re watching the situation closely.” Was Ducrey’s appearance simply a coincidence of scheduling, or was it a message delivered before a decisive vote?

“The vote looked fair on the surface, but the outcome had already been locked in. How much will our sport sacrifice to protect its Olympic status if the price is stripping away its core values?”

Sleight of Hand and Hypocrisy

In light of these events, we have every right to ask: Did some members of the executive board collude to influence what should have been an independent and impartial vote? A vote did take place—but we must be clear about what members were actually allowed to decide.

By imposing a new motion and a decision tree instead of holding a straightforward, federation-by-federation vote, World Climbing prevented any individual review of the Israeli Climbing Association’s case. The evidence, the facts, and the question of responsibility were never debated on their merits. The adopted motion preserves the status quo. Israeli athletes continue to represent their country, while Russian and Belarusian athletes compete as Individual Neutral Athletes. By a narrow majority of its member federations, World Climbing has chosen to continue applying suspensions selectively and inconsistently through a conveniently structured motion.

The vote looked fair on the surface, but the outcome had already been locked in. How much will our sport sacrifice to protect its Olympic status if the price is stripping away its core values?

These procedural games are not merely internal governance disputes. While World Climbing became bogged down in its own process, Palestinian climbers continued to be assaulted, harassed, and imprisoned. The human cost is immediate and documented.

We are deeply concerned that the Israeli Climbing Association continues to be allowed to engage in conduct that contributes to serious violations of international law and World Climbing’s own rules. This includes the annexation of climbing areas in the occupied West Bank and the maintenance of a system that denies Palestinians equal access to their own land.

We are also outraged that a legitimate democratic vote was blocked through procedural maneuvering that creates no path forward beyond the one that already existed—and that it took enormous pressure for World Climbing to take even minimal action.

“In a sport that claims to value courage, a connection to nature, and the pursuit of freedom, we must look to Palestinian climbers to understand what those values truly mean.”

After this charade, World Climbing congratulated itself for adopting a “framework based on objective governance criteria, proportionality, and nondiscrimination.” In reality, by refusing to hold the Israeli Climbing Association accountable, World Climbing is disregarding both its own governing documents and the Olympic Charter.

The charter also clearly requires sports organizations such as World Climbing to remain politically neutral. Yet this outcome provides no new way to address Israel’s violations of laws and rules. Instead, it prevents athletes from receiving timely and equal protection, suggesting that the assembly’s actions primarily reflect the political positions of its members or their governments.

World Climbing’s announcement that the allegations against the Israeli Climbing Association will be referred to a “disciplinary commission” is nothing more than a meaningless delaying tactic. The organization has provided no transparency about who will sit on the commission and no timeline for its work—more than 10 months after Climbers for Palestine submitted its complaint.

The complaint was emailed on September 30, 2025, by Climbers for Palestine Spain to the organization, then known as the IFSC, under the subject line “Information regarding the Israeli Climbing Association.”

World Climbing did not even confirm that the allegations would be referred to the disciplinary commission until after the July 23 extraordinary general assembly. Why should the community believe that this commission will act quickly or honestly when World Climbing has delayed action against the Israeli Climbing Association for nearly a year?

This Concerns All of Us

We demand a public and transparent investigation into these allegations. Blocking the vote has once again created an unnecessary delay in World Climbing’s procedures. This was a deliberate decision by many of the organization’s leaders, and it will have real consequences for Palestinian climbers: physical assaults and harassment by illegal settlers, as well as arbitrary imprisonment. Abdallah Motan, a Palestinian climber, has been held without trial since January 13, 2025.

These harms are documented and ongoing. Ending them will require the continued attention and mobilization of the global climbing community. This year, climbers around the world came together to prevent competitive climbing from being used to sportswash violence and land theft against Palestinians. Thousands wrote to their national federations and World Climbing’s leadership to condemn the actions of the Israeli federation and demand that the organization do what is right.

Although a narrow majority of federation leaders rejected our appeal, we are proud of and grateful to the many climbers—professional and recreational alike—who did not. This story has always belonged to the climbers of Palestine. In a sport that claims to value courage, a connection to nature, and the pursuit of freedom, we must look to Palestinian climbers to understand what those values truly mean.

Despite this outcome, Climbers for Palestine will continue to follow their example. We will try to face these new challenges with the resolve and dignity shown by our Palestinian brothers and sisters. As they fight for freedom, we will continue to hold accountable those who seek to take it from them. These climbers are showing us what real courage looks like. We hope the entire global climbing community will soon follow their lead.

Climbers for Palestine and Grimpe Solidaire Internationale (GSI) are independent organizations that advocate, among other causes, for recognition of the rights of climbers in Palestine.