BETHLEHEM, West Bank (Reuters) – Olympics chief Jacques Rogge on Wednesday called for Israel to give more help to Palestinian athletes in his “message of peace” during a major tour of the region.

“Please make the life of the Palestinian athletes easier… that is definitely the main message that I will convey later this afternoon and tomorrow,” the International Olympics Committee (IOC) President told Reuters in an interview.

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (Reuters) – Olympics chief Jacques Rogge on Wednesday called for Israel to give more help to Palestinian athletes in his “message of peace” during a major tour of the region.

“Please make the life of the Palestinian athletes easier… that is definitely the main message that I will convey later this afternoon and tomorrow,” the International Olympics Committee (IOC) President told Reuters in an interview.

BETHLEHEM, West Bank, Oct 6 (Reuters) – Olympics chief
Jacques Rogge on Wednesday called for Israel to give more help
to Palestinian athletes in his “message of peace” during a major
tour of the region.

“Please make the life of the Palestinian athletes easier…
that is definitely the main message that I will convey later
this afternoon and tomorrow,” the International Olympics
Committee (IOC) President told Reuters in an interview.

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (Reuters) – Olympics chief Jacques Rogge Wednesday called for Israel to give more help to Palestinian athletes in his “message of peace” during a major tour of the region.

“Please make the life of the Palestinian athletes easier… that is definitely the main message that I will convey later this afternoon and tomorrow,” the International Olympics Committee (IOC) President told Reuters in an interview.

JERUSALEM, Oct 6 (Reuters) – Chelsea midfielder Yossi
Benayoun will miss Israel’s Euro 2012 qualifiers against Croatia
and Greece and faces months on the sidelines after suffering an
Achilles tendon injury, the Israeli FA said on Wednesday.

An MRI scan carried out after his arrival in Israel on
Tuesday, when he told national team staff of the pain he was
experiencing, revealed the true extent of the injury which was
originally thought to be just a calf muscle injury.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – An Israeli orchestra is set to become the first ensemble from the Jewish state to play a German festival associated with Richard Wagner, a composer admired by Adolf Hitler and whose music has been controversial in Israel.

The Israel Chamber Orchestra will perform in July in the northern Bavarian town of Bayreuth where Wagner lived the latter part of his life until his death in 1883. He built an opera house there, designed to host his own expansive works.

TEL AVIV (Reuters) – Embattled Olympic Lyon coach Claude Puel gained a welcome if all too fleeting respite from his domestic woes on Wednesday with his team’s 3-1 win over Hapoel Tel Aviv in Champions League Group B.

Puel, who is under fire for his side’s poor start to their Ligue 1 campaign, had already turned his attention to a demanding match against Nancy as he appraised his team’s performance.

TEL AVIV, Sept 29 (Reuters) – Brazilian midfielder Michel
Bastos again proved Olympique Lyon’s matchwinner with a
first-half double in a 3-1 win over Hapoel Tel Aviv in Champions
League Group B on Wednesday.

Bastos, who hit the only goal in Lyon’s win over Schalke in
their opening game, struck with a penalty after seven minutes
after Hapoel captain Walid Badier brought down Jimmy Briand.

GEVA BINYAMIN, West Bank (Reuters) – Mechanical diggers tore into the rocky ground at a Jewish settlement on Tuesday where mostly Palestinian crew prepared foundations for 24 homes after Israel’s partial building freeze ended.

“We got to work this morning, we are just doing our job,” said the site’s foreman, a Palestinian who declined to give his name.

TEL AVIV, Sept 2 (Reuters) – Captain Yossi Benayoun scored a
hat-trick to lead Israel to a 3-1 win over Malta in their
opening Euro 2012 Group F qualifier on Thursday.

Benayoun struck in the seventh minute with a low shot from
close range, converted a penalty in the 64th and finished off
with a header 15 minutes from time.