In a post on social media X, cited by the EFE agency, Yolanda Díaz recalled that the Eurovision Song Contest "is joy, peace and diversity, not a showcase to whitewash the genocide of the Palestinian people by Israel, which is death, destruction and hatred." For the Spanish official, Israel "is incompatible with the values promoted by the contest and should not participate" in the event, which in this edition is being marked by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has been going on for decades, but intensified after an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas in Israel on October 7, which caused almost 1,200 deaths, with the country led by Benjamin Netanyahu responding with an offensive that caused more than 34,000 deaths in the Gaza Strip, according to reports from both sides. The official's position comes after her party, Sumar, launched a campaign on social media to gather support to prevent the performance of the Israeli representative, Eden Golan, in the final of the contest. With the message "Sign now to expel Israel from the Eurovision Song Contest. Do not perform in Saturday's final!", Sumar intends to gather as many signatures as possible, to try to force the country's expulsion from the 68th edition of the contest. In the petition, Sumar argues that the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) accepted Israel's participation at a time when that country's armies "are exterminating the Palestinian people and devastating the entire region" of the Gaza Strip. In addition, the party criticizes the organization for censoring those who demand the end of this war, referring to the Swedish artist of Palestinian origin Eric Saade (Sweden's representative in the contest in 2011 with "Popular"), who on Tuesday brought the conflict to the stage, during the opening number of the first semifinal, by singing with his left hand wrapped in a 'keffiyeh'. Eric Saade's attitude was later disapproved by the EBU. "It is intolerable that every time someone raises their voice to demand that this massacre be stopped, there are those who protect the murderers," argues Sumar, demanding that the world "stop being complicit in the genocide of the Palestinian people." Meanwhile, the Spanish public broadcaster, RTVE, through its delegation present in Malmö, asked the EBU to guarantee freedom of the press and opinion during the festival, after an incident involving a journalist from Spain. "The Spanish delegation of RTVE conveyed to the EBU its commitment to freedom of the press and opinion and demanded that it guarantee its respect in Eurovision," reads a statement shared by the Spanish public broadcaster on social media X. The publication was shared today, after a Spanish journalist was approached by Israeli journalists when, after the performance of the Israeli representative in the contest, Eden Golan, in the first rehearsal of the final, he shouted twice loudly "Free Palestine". According to reports to EFE from several people who witnessed the event, an Israeli journalist, upon hearing the comment, "began to berate him and take pictures of him." Minutes later, two other Israeli journalists approached and began photographing the Spanish journalist's accreditation. "Why are you doing this here if you are a journalist?" they asked "excitedly and with an aggressive attitude". On the same occasion, a photojournalist, also Israeli, appeared and began filming the Spaniard "with the spotlights on his face, in an attempt to intimidate him", ignoring his requests to leave him alone. The 68th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest is being marked by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has been going on for decades, but intensified after an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas in Israel on October 7, which caused almost 1,200 deaths, with the country led by Benjamin Netanyahu responding with an offensive that caused more than 34,000 deaths in the Gaza Strip, according to reports from both sides. Since it became known that Israel would participate in the contest, represented by Eden Golan, several appeals have been made by European political representatives and artists to the EBU to veto the country's participation in the contest. Israel, which is one of the 26 countries that will compete this year in the Eurovision final, was the first non-European country to be able to participate in the music contest, in 1973, and has won four times, including with the transgender singer Dana International, in 1998. Also Read: Protests of appeal to the boycott of Israel in Eurovision are "unacceptable" (Portuguese version)