Israel barred from World Ice Hockey Championships for security reasons - official

The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) has barred Israel from its world championships to ensure the "safety and well-being" of all participants, including Israelis.

"The IIHF Council took this decision after careful consideration and based on a risk assessment, discussions with the participating countries and discussions with the hosts," the federation said in a statement.

Israel will remain excluded "for the time being", the IIHF said.

The Israeli men's team were scheduled to play a Division II-A world championship tournament in Serbia in April against teams including Australia and the United Arab Emirates.

The Israeli Ice Hockey Association said it will lodge a protest over the IIHF decision with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

"The discriminative decision to exclude Israel is an unusual and very serious step that does not meet any international sporting standard and stands in complete contradiction to Olympic values," said a statement from the Israeli federation released by the country's embassy in Paris.

Yael Arad, the chairman of Olympic Committee of Israel, described the ban as a "precedent-setting and dangerous decision".

He said it reflected "a strong undercurrent of discrimination...disguised under the pretext of athlete safety."

The international federation's move comes with Israel locked in a war in the Gaza Strip.