Spain PM Calls for Eurovision to Ban “Israel”

By Staff, Agencies

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has called for "Israel" to be excluded from international cultural events such as the Eurovision Song Contest over the entity's genocidal war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Sanchez made the remarks at a news conference in Madrid on Monday, two days after "Israel" finished second at the 2025 Eurovision's grand final in Switzerland.

He said "Israel" should face the same consequences as that of Russia, which was barred from international competitions following its military operation in Ukraine in 2022, adding that "Israel" should also be banned "because what we cannot allow is double standards in culture."

Sanchez also expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people, saying they are "experiencing the injustice of war and bombardment."

Ahead of the Eurovision final, Spain's broadcast network RTVE posted a video message in support of Palestinians on X, reading, "When human rights are at stake, silence is not an option. Peace and justice for Palestine."

Earlier, pro-Palestinian groups had urged the European Broadcasting Union [EBU], the organizer of Eurovision, to remove "Israel" from the competition over the entity's brutal onslaught on Gaza.

Similarly, dozens of former Eurovision competitors and several of the broadcasters that fund the contest had sought "Israel's" exclusion.

Last year, Spain, along with Norway and Ireland, formally recognized a Palestinian state based on the pre-1967 borders with East al-Quds as its capital.