Spanish Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun earlier warned that sending Spanish artists to an event including Israel at this time would show a lack of respect for the victims.
Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Iceland have also threatened to boycott the contest.
Israel committed the crime of genocide in Gaza, says UN independent commission
The UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry found that Israel has committed “genocide” in Gaza since October 2023.
“It is clear there is an intent to destroy the Palestinians in Gaza through acts that meet the criteria set forth in the Genocide Convention,” the statement said.
The commission cited killings, causing serious bodily or mental harm, creating living conditions designed to physically destroy the population, and measures intended to prevent births.
It also concluded that Israeli leaders, including President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, incited genocide, and that Israeli authorities have not acted to punish this incitement.
Other political and military figures, including Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, were noted as needing further assessment for possible incitement.
The report was released as Israel launched a ground offensive in Gaza City following weeks of heavy bombardment. According to Gaza’s health ministry, nearly 65,000 people have been killed since Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, and parts of the territory are now facing famine, according to a global hunger monitor.
Israel rejects UN report
Israel denies the allegations, citing its right to self-defence after the Hamas attack, which killed 1,200 people and left 251 hostages.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry called the UN report “distorted and false” and has urged the immediate disbandment of the commission investigating human rights violations in the Palestinian territories under its control.
Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, 16 September 2025. Photo: MOHAMMED SABER/PAP/EPA
(mp)
Source: RTVE/AFP/IAR/UN/X/@IsraelMFA/@IsraelMFA/@ESCdiscord/@rtvenoticies