Rishi Sunak has slammed “outrageous” protests and calls for a boycott over Israel's participation in the Eurovision song contest.
Downing Street said the prime minister urged demonstrators to consider the feelings of Israeli and Jewish Eurovision fans watching the scenes “in the aftermath of what was an atrocious terror attack and while hostages are still being held by Hamas”.
An estimated 10,000 to 12,000 pro-Palestinian protesters marched through Malmo, where the contest is being held, on Thursday.
More marches are planned for the final itself on Saturday while there have also been calls for artists to boycott this year’s final over Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, which has seen more the 34,000 Palestinians killed.
No 10 said: “The Prime Minister thinks that these protests are wrong. And so the scenes you’ve seen have been outrageous.
“Just as we share the deep concern over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza… when it comes to this debate around Eurovision and these protests, we are incredibly mindful of the Israelis and also Jewish people around the world, who love Eurovision and their feelings of seeing this in the aftermath of what was an atrocious terror attack, and while hostages are still being held by Hamas. He would urge people to consider this when repeating these unfair calls for boycott.”
The prime minister's spokeswoman added that Mr Sunak “thinks it is wrong and unfair to call for a boycott of their act. We remain steadfast in our support for Israel and its right to self-defence and its right to prevent a terror attack such as we saw from ever happening again. At the same time, we continue to urge further action on aid in response to a growing humanitarian crisis."
She added: "There is always the right for peaceful protest, that's part of democracy here and around the world, but in terms of the prime minister's opinion, these scenes and whether it is right to call for a boycott of their acts, no - he thinks that's wrong."
The UK’s Olly Alexander and Ireland’s Bambie Thug are among the artists who rejected pressure not to compete in a joint statement.
Israeli singer Eden Golan qualified on Thursday for this weekend’s final.
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