MILAN, Jan 28 - The inclusion of Italian rapper Ghali in the cast of performers at the opening ceremony of the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics has sparked a row in Italy because of his past genocide allegations against Israel over its war in Gaza.

Members of Italy's right-wing League party, part of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government, have criticised the choice of Ghali, a high-profile figure who was born in Milan to Tunisian parents, to perform at the event in the San Siro stadium on February 6.