The national windsurfing team has canceled its plan to compete in Oman due to security concerns, Ynet News reports.
A spokesperson for the General Security Service (GSS, also known as the Shabak or Shin Bet) said, "the Shin Bet invested great effort in trying to coordinate appropriate security arrangements" but "as these efforts did not succeed... the Shin Bet was compelled to invoke the authority accorded it by the government of Israel and bar the delegation from departing to its destination."
Gili Amir, the chair of the Israeli Sailing Association, expressed disappointment at the decision: "It's unthinkable that our top athletes, who will potentially represent Israel in the Olympic Games in Rio and are some of the world's best, will be absent from the world championships and won't participate in the most important competition of the year. The Israelis' non-participation severely harms the sport in my mind, and could set precedents."