LONDON – The Netherlands added itself Friday to a number of countries pressuring organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest to drop Israel from the contest because of its war in the Gaza Strip.

Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS, one of dozens of public broadcasters that collectively fund and broadcast the contest, said it would not take part in next year's competition in Vienna if Israel participates "given the ongoing and severe human suffering in Gaza.”

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“The broadcaster also expresses deep concern about the serious erosion of press freedom: the deliberate exclusion of independent international reporting and the many casualties among journalists," it said in a statement.

Irish broadcaster RTE released a similar statement Thursday, following a path already taken by Slov

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