Sawt Falasteen - Italian president urges Olympic truce at Milan-Cortina torch ceremony

Speaking in Rome at the Olympic torch lighting ceremony, Mattarella urged that hostilities stop for the duration of the sprawling winter sport showcase which opens on February 6.

"Peace is coded into the DNA of the Olympics... Italy has asked that the truce be renewed and we hope that it is possible," Mattarella said.

"We hope that the two months that separate us from the beginning of the Games can bring an easing of tensions and dialogue, and stop attacks and barbarity."

A ceasefire deal between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas came into effect on October 10 but it remains fragile, with both sides accusing each other of violating the terms.

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and that war shows no sign of ending, a conflict which also led to a range of sporting bans for Russian and Belarusian athletes.

Those included being barred from competing in events organised by the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), although the world's top sporting tribunal overturned that ban on Tuesday and opened the door to qualification for the Winter Olympics.

"The Olympic Games exists to bring people together, to break down the walls that divide us, and to inspire the dreams and hopes of the next generation," insisted International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry on Friday.

The torch relay begins on Saturday in Rome at the Stadio dei Marmi at the foot of the Olympic Stadium, passing in the first leg through some of the Italian capital's landmarks such as St. Peter's Square, the Pantheon, the ancient Imperial Forum, and the Colosseum.

Carried in total by 10,001 torchbearers, the torch will travel 12,000 kilometres over 63 days, passing through more than 300 cities across Italy before arriving in Milan on February 5, the day before the opening ceremony at the city's San Siro football stadium.

Next year's Games will be held over a huge area of Italy, from the country's economic capital Milan in the north-west to Cortina d'Ampezzo in the Dolomite mountains, not far from the border with Austria.

The event is expected to mark a turning point in Winter Olympic history by making extensive use of existing facilities to limit costs and temper the impact on the environment.

H.Darwish--SF-PST