Ireland will not participate in the Eurovision Song Contest next year if Israel is permitted to compete, the country’s public broadcaster RTÉ has announced.

In a statement released today, RTÉ said that participating “would be unconscionable given the ongoing and appalling loss of lives in Gaza.” Spain, Slovenia and Iceland have made similar statements.

RTÉ said it was “deeply concerned by the targeted killing of journalists in Gaza, and the denial of access to international journalists to the territory, and the plight of the remaining hostages.”

RTÉ plans to make a final decision on whether it will withdraw once Eurovision’s organizer, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), decides if Israel can participate. It added that “a number of EBU members” had “raised concerns” about the iss

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