Hanan Ashrawi
Hanan AshrawiMiriam Alster/Flash 90

The Palestinian Authority on Friday blasted the organizers of the Giro d'Italia cycle race, accusing them of being "complicit in Israel's military occupation" by starting the 2018 race from Jerusalem.

"By organizing such an event, Giro d'Italia is being complicit in Israel's military occupation and its egregious violations of international law, conventions and consensus," charged senior Palestinian Arab official Hanan Ashrawi in a statement quoted by AFP.

"We urge Giro d'Italia to stop placating Israel at the expense of our fundamental human rights and freedoms and to move the race outside of Israel," she added.

The 101st Giro d'Italia is to begin in Jerusalem on May 4, 2018, the first time one of cycling's three major races has started outside Europe.

Earlier this week, it was reported that the leg of the race scheduled to take place in Israel is in danger of cancellation due to the event’s refusal to recognize the entirety of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The event’s organizers had declared on the race’s official website and YouTube channel that the race course passes through “West Jerusalem,” rather than simply “Jerusalem,” implying a refusal to recognize the entirety of the city as the capital of Israel.

Tourism Minister Yariv Levin and Culture Minister Miri Regev had both called on the organizers to change the description of the tour to say that it is passing through Jerusalem. The organizers complied with the request on Thursday.

"Giro d'Italia is assuaging Israel by presenting Jerusalem as a unified city under Israel's sovereignty," Ashrawi said on Friday.

(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)