Representatives of Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest raised the flag of Palestine during the final of the competition held in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening, and American singer Madonna gave a presentation in which the Palestinian flag appeared.
Also during the closing night, a breakthrough occurred to broadcast the Israeli Channel 11 during the transfer of the contest on air, and broadcast footage of the martyrs of the Israeli war on Gaza.
Members of the Icelandic "Hatari" band performed on the Palestinian flag, when cameras focused on them, while announcing their results in the competition.
Security officials immediately intervened and grabbed scarves from the Icelandic band, amid jeers from the Israeli audience. The Icelandic singers spoke of "conflicting feelings" about their participation in a competition in Israel.
Madonna also raised angry reactions from the Israelis during her presentation as guest of honor on the final night, where a member of her group appeared on her back with the flag of Palestine, and another member of the flag of Israel on his back.
The organizers said that what Madonna put the Palestinian flag on the back of one of the participants was without their knowledge, did not appear during the previous training period, adding that this represents a political message in a non-political contest.
Israeli media attacks Madonna
The Israeli media attacked Madonna, and the newspaper "Israel Today" - close to the government - "a provocation from the guest of honor .. Madonna disappoint."
The solidarity movements with the Palestinians organized numerous campaigns to call for boycotting the contest and shed light on the practices of the Israeli occupation against the Palestinians.
Commenting on the final night of the competition, the Palestinian Campaign for Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel wrote in a publication on social networking sites: "Palestinian civil society overwhelmingly rejects false gestures of solidarity from international artists who cross our line of peaceful sit-ins. The boycott movement calls on artists to cancel their performances in Israel.
The European competition was held in Israel this year after Israeli singer Nieta Barzilai won the title last year.