Paris, France - Israeli athletes are welcome at the Paris Olympics, French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne said Monday, after a leftist member of the French parliament urged them to stay away.

"The Israeli delegation is welcome in France," Sejourne said ahead of talks with his Israeli counterpart, adding that the call by France Unbowed (LFI) lawmaker Thomas Portes for the country's exclusion had been "irresponsible and dangerous."

"We will ensure the security of the delegation," Sejourne added.

Portes had said Israeli athletes were "not welcome" and called for "mobilization" around the Olympics, during a demonstration in support of Palestinians.

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He later told the Parisien newspaper that "France's diplomats should pressure the International Olympic Committee to bar the Israeli flag and anthem, as is done for Russia" over its invasion of Ukraine.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin claimed the comments had "hints of anti-Semitism," while the head of the Crif Jewish organization Yonathan Arfi said he was "putting a target on the backs" of Israeli athletes.

Facing widespread accusations of genocide, Israel has killed at least 38,983 Palestinians in Gaza since October, according to the local health ministry, and subjected the occupied territory's entire population to dire crises of displacement, disease, and hunger.

Portes' remarks were condemned at the weekend by some allies from the more moderate Socialists, but backed by others in LFI.