LONDON (AP):

Complaining that the Olympic movement is still ignoring their pain, Israelis marked the 40th anniversary of the Munich massacre yesterday with a modest service in the atrium of a London apartment block.

Prayers were read for the 11 murdered Israelis, wreaths were laid for them and a plaque unveiled about four miles (six kilometres) from the Olympic Stadium.

However, there will be no minute of silence for them at Friday's opening ceremony.

"The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has a moral commitment to commemorate the 11 athletes, coaches and referees," Israeli Olympic Committee secretary general Efraim Zinger said. "Not because they were Israelis, but because they were Olympians and were murdered during the Olympic Games.

"It's been 40 years since that dreadful day and I hope that the day will come that the IOC will recognise all 11 athletes as victims and find the proper way to commemorate their memory."

IOC President Jacques Rogge reiterated Saturday that the opening ceremony was not an appropriate arena to remember the dead despite pressure from politicians in the United States, Israel and Germany.

In talks over several years with Israeli officials, the IOC has not been able to agree to a suitable way of remembering the slain athletes at each games, according to Zinger.

"The frustrating fact is that until now, none of the alternative ways to commemorate was practised," Zinger said.