JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel says the international marathon body is injecting politics into sports by excluding an Israeli race because it passes through contested West Bank territory.

The Israel Marathon Association said Thursday that the Association of International Marathons and Distances Races has displayed a "discriminatory nature" against the Bible Marathon that "will certainly result in great anger" among runners around the world.

Next month's Bible Marathon stretches from central Israel to the settlement of Shiloh, tracing a path described in the Book of Samuel. Organizers call the route the oldest recorded marathon in history.

The Greek-based organization said it had to exclude the Israeli marathon to comply with international law. The Israeli association asked it to reconsider, noting that it has long recognized the Laayoune Marathon in the disputed Western Sahara region.