Palestine Marathon organizers ban comedian because of Tel Aviv gig

The British comedian Eddie Izzard was banned by organizers from running in the Palestine Marathon after refusing to cancel a show in Israel.

The comedian is known for his rambling monologues and cross-dressing. He performed in Tel Aviv on Thursday night.

Palestine Marathon organizers had said earlier that Izzard was not welcome unless he canceled the Tel Aviv gig. "We refuse to be used as a fig leaf to cover up Izzard's whitewashing of Israel's occupation and apartheid," they said. 

"I believe... in the co-existence of an Israeli State and a Palestinian State," a statement from Izzard explaining his actions said. "I decided, rather than doing nothing, to be proactive and play a gig in Tel Aviv and also run the Palestine Marathon the day after."

Speaking to the 'Daily Mail' on Friday, Izzard said: "As someone who was born in Yemen, I took political advice before deciding to perform a show in Tel Aviv, Israel. I came to the conclusion that as there are many different feelings on this subject and that if I was trying to be balanced. So, as someone who is well known for my comedy and my marathon running, I decided to perform the show in Tel Aviv and also run the Palestine Marathon in Bethlehem.

"I have now performed my show in Tel Aviv but even though the Palestinian Authority are allowing me to run in the Palestine Marathon, others do not want me to run. All I wanted to do was to try and bring a little extra focus to the Palestine Marathon and to the situation there. But if they would rather I didn't, I'm fine with that. But good luck to all the runners and I hope they run great marathons."

A prominent supporter of the British Labour Party, Izzard often speaks at rallies, according to the AFP. Around 5,000 runners participated the marathon, whose aim was to protest against Israel's occupation of the West Bank.