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This year’s Eurovision winner has called for Israel to be excluded from the 2026 contest, amid the war in Gaza.
Austrian singer JJ, who won the contest on Saturday night with his song “Wasted Love”, made the comments in an interview with a Spanish newspaper that was published on Thursday.
Eurovision stresses its political neutrality, but has faced controversy linked to the war in Gaza.
The Israeli military has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians in the enclave in the past 19 months, according to Palestinian health authorities, who do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
The war was sparked when Hamas militants attacked Israel on 7 October, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies.
Ahead of the 2025 final in Basel, Switzerland, pro-Palestinian groups had urged the European Broadcasting Union to remove Israel from the contest.
However, Yuval Raphael, a survivor of the 7 October attack, emerged as the winner of the televote, finishing second overall in the competition after JJ.
"It is very disappointing to see Israel still participating in the contest,” Spanish newspaper El Pais quoted 24-year-old JJ, whose real name is Johannes Pietsch, as saying.
“I would like the next Eurovision to be held in Vienna and without Israel.”
The Israeli embassy in Madrid did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Though El Pais did not mention the war in the interview, JJ's remarks chimed with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's call on Monday for the exclusion of Israel from cultural events such as Eurovision over the conflict in Gaza.
JJ also said the vote-counting system should be revised to improve transparency.
He was the third Austrian winner of the contest, which has become the world's biggest music competition and is watched by more than 160 million people around the globe.
Israel's entrant, Ms Raphael, was at the Nova music festival near the Gaza border during the Hamas attack.
She faced protests during her performances of her song “New Day Will Rise”, including during the grand final on Saturday when a Eurovision crew member was hit by paint as two audience members attempted to disrupt the show.
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