The Israel-Premier Tech cycling team have been confronted by pro-Palestine activists ahead of the Tour of Britain, with further protests expected at each of the stages this week.

In a video posted on Instagram by the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (SPSC), an activist is seen approaching staff at one of the team’s cars in the Scottish Borders town Peebles yesterday evening, ahead of the British stage race getting underway in Kelso today.

An Israel-Premier Tech spokesperson told road.cc the team remains “excited to race” and “respects everyone’s right to free speech so the protests that are expected at the Tour of Britain do not pose a problem”.

Pro-Palestine campaign groups Show Israel the Red Card, Scottish Friends of Palestine, Scottish Sport for Palestine, and the SPSC called on British Cycling to remove the team from the race, with protests planned at each of the stages, including one in Kelso this morning. The groups have also reportedly emailed British Cycling CEO Jon Dutton calling for the team’s exclusion.

Last night, Israel-Premier Tech staff were approached by an activist accusing them of “sportswashing”, the practice of using sport to redirect public attention away from unethical conduct, the activist asking if they had “anything to say about your owner supporting a genocide?”

There was no response from the staff who got in the team car and were seen driving off. In March, we reported that Israel-Premier Tech had removed the Israel name from its vehicles as a “precautionary measure”, the UCI ProTour team of Chris Froome and Michael Woods insisting that they “continue to race proudly as Israel – Premier Tech”.

Scottish Borders SPSC Chair Elisa Smith said: “The ICJ has ruled that the situation in Gaza is a ‘plausible case for genocide’ and that Israel is operating a system of apartheid in Palestine.

“Israel Premier Tech’s primary objective is that when you hear ‘Israel’ you don’t think of IOF [Israel Occupation Forces] snipers paralysing athletes, 16,000 dead children in Gaza, or the raping of Palestinian detainees.

“Instead, they want you to focus on Chris Froome making a record-breaking time or Tel Aviv’s rooftop bars, as evidenced by Israel’s Tourism Board team jerseys and their social media feed. The team and its ownership certainly don’t want people to think of Gaza’s Paralympic cycling team, Gaza Sunbirds, which is made up of amputees who’ve lost their limbs as a result of Israeli aggression.”

The activist was seen offering the staff a Palestinian flag, asking: “You don’t want to put this on your car?”

“Cycling is sportswashing,” the SPSC activist added. “What you are doing is sportswashing […] why have you taken Israel off your team car? Because you guys know, don’t you? That you’re supporting a genocide.”

The SPSC post also states: “Join us tomorrow, 3rd September, in Kelso to protest British Cycling’s shameful inclusion of the war criminal state in the Tour of Britain! Say no to sports washing genocide!”

Explaining the protests, Maree Shepherd of Show Israel the Red Card told The National: “There can be no business as usual if you choose to ignore the plight of Palestinians and partner with the perpetrating occupying regime, Israel, as it carries on with the wholesale destruction of every aspect of Palestinian life.

“From football to the Olympics and now cycling, we are sick of our beloved sports being tainted by the inclusion of Israeli teams, many of whom serve in the Israeli army and facilitate the abuse of Palestinians through the decades-long military occupation and war.

“Israel can no longer get away with committing atrocity after atrocity. Neither can anyone who attempts to sportswash it.”

Similar protests are planned for the rest of the week as the race travels south through England, Big Ride for Palestine and Sheffield Palestine Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid hosting one in Sheffield ahead of Thursday’s third stage.

“British Cycling, Sheffield City Council, and the South Yorkshire Mayor make themselves complicit in the war crimes, genocide and apartheid of Israel clearly identified by the International Court of Justice,” Jonny Feldman of both campaign groups said.

In January, Chris Froome appeared in an official Israel state video promoting a cycling event to support Gaza hostages. The video was posted by official Israel accounts and the Israel Foreign Ministry on social media.

Three months later activists called for protests against the team after Froome’s wife deleted her social media accounts after launching a series of posts, one stating that Muslims are a “drain on modern society”.

The agent and wife of Chris Froome said Muslims were “here to take over” and claimed “there are no innocent Gazans” during a string of social media posts, with the UCI ProTeam distancing itself from “comments made by third parties”.

In March, the team told us they had removed mention of Israel from team vehicles as a “precautionary measure” following safety advice from “European police authorities”.

“We continue to race proudly as Israel – Premier Tech with the team name and Israel branding on the racing kit as it was in previous years. As previously stated, the team adopted a number of precautionary measures ahead of the 2024 season,” a spokesperson told us.

“The decision was made to use the IPT monogram, comprised of the Star of David and the Premier Tech ‘PT’, on the team vehicles and other branded elements. The team monogram has been an integral part of the Israel – Premier Tech brand identity since 2023 when it was first adopted on the back of the team jersey and this vehicle branding has been on display since IPT’s first races in Europe in February this year.”