(Guardian) The ExCel centre in east London is the venue for the judo at the London 2012 Olympics. Photograph: Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images... Olympic officials were forced to erect a screen between 's and 's fighters on Friday after the Lebanese refused to train on the same mat, the Israeli Olympic team said on Friday.
The incident arose after 's two judokas found themselves next to the five Israelis during practice at the official training venue in Redbridge, in east London, said Nitzan Ferraro, spokesman for the Israeli Olympic Committee.
"We started to practise. They came and they saw us – they didn't like it and they went to the organisers," Ferraro told Reuters. "They put up some kind of wall between us. Everyone went on and there was no interaction between us."
The Lebanese Olympic Committee could not immediately be reached for comment.
Organisers of the competition said there were always screens available so that competing athletes and their coaching staff would not be able to spy on each other's training.
has for decades been under the influence of , a bitter enemy of , and the two have technically been at war since 1948.
The last military confrontation involving the two countries took place in 2006. The - border has been largely quiet since then.
Ferraro said the incident had not been a big deal for the team. "It didn't matter for us. We don't mix politics and sport. We had no problem," he said.
's Caren Chammas and 's Alice Schlesinger will both compete in the women's -63kg category next Tuesday but could meet only in the final, an eventuality organisers believe is highly unlikely.
I noticed Reuters said this was the Israeli opinion, but the Guardian of all places confirmed that this really happened
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