Malaysia bans Israeli athletes from int'l sailing meet

Malaysia has sought to defend itself for denying visas to two Israeli windsurfers hoping to compete in an international competition, saying Sunday that it was guided by the government's policies.

"We accept the decision by the Israeli Youth Team to withdraw from participating in ISAF Youth World Championship (YWC)."

Omer and Drihan -- along with their coach Meir Yaniv -- were refused visas 24 hours before their scheduled departure after they were reported to have refused to respond to the host nation's request that they abstain from using their national flag or symbols on windsurfing outfits.

"As with all diplomatic issues this is quite a delicate matter. World Sailing is aware of the current commentary in the public arena, and have reason to believe that some of the comments may not be accurate or possibly based on misunderstandings," World Sailing president Carlo Croce said in a statement.

It has frequently highlighted what it calls the "intrusion" of Israel into the Palestinian heartland and the "brutal actions" it has taken to conquer Palestine, whose people Malaysiasays have lived in fear and danger for many decades.