Swiss police probe 'slit throat' gesture by Gaza protester at Eurovision opening parade
POLICE IN THE Swiss city of Basel are investigating after a pro-Gaza protester made a slit-throat gesture during a parade taking place in the city as part of the opening events around the Eurovision Song Contest.
The acts in this year's competition took part in the parade as part of the 'Turquoise Carpet' opening event yesterday.
In the aftermath of the event footage circulated of a pro-Palestine demonstrator allegedly making the gesture towards the Israeli delegation.
Israeli public broadcaster Kan said it had filed a complaint with Swiss police following the incident 'in which a young man wearing a keffiyeh and holding a Palestinian flag made a throat-slitting gesture' towards the country's singer and the Israeli delegation.
Kan said it had also contacted contest organisers the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) requesting that 'action be taken to identify the individual who made the gesture and spat at members of the delegation'.
A video shared by the country's foreign ministry on X yesterday
shows a man from the group of demonstrators following the parade and making the gesture
.
A local police spokesperson said: 'The Cantonal Police is aware of the incident and will draw up a report for the responsible prosecution authorities.'
Advertisement
The EBU have also been contacted for comment.
Israel's singer this year, Yuval Raphael,
is a survivor of the Hamas attack on the Nova Music Festival in Israel in October 2023
. 378 people died in the attack on the festival, and over 1,200 were killed in the wider attacks carried out by Hamas on 7 October.
Israel's presence at the song contest this year has once again been the subject of controversy over its government's offensive in Gaza, which has killed over 52,800 people.
Actor Stephen Rea was the latest well-known figure to add his voice to calls for RTÉ to boycott the contest on behalf of Ireland,
at a protest in Donnybrook last week
.
Demonstrators protested Israel's participation in the Eurovision this year over its government's actions in Gaza.
Alamy
Alamy
A number of public broadcasters, including RTÉ, have called for a debate on Israel's ongoing inclusion in the contest.
Broadcasters in Iceland, Slovenia and Spain have also raised concerns around Israel's participation. Further protests by local campaign groups are planned for Basel throughout the week.
The EBU have defended Israel's right to participate, saying the emphasis of the competition is to be 'positive and inclusive'.
Israel and Ireland's EMMY both compete in the second Eurovision semi-final this Thursday night. The first semi-final happens tomorrow night, with the final taking place on Saturday.
Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article.
Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
Learn More
Support The Journal
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
29 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
Thousands attend pro-Palestine and anti-immigration rallies in Cork
A major policing operation was in place in Cork City this afternoon as thousands of people marched in two separate rallies. Dozens of uniformed gardaí, backed up by dozens of members of the Garda Public Order Unit — all deployed in soft cap mode — and members of the Garda Mounted Unit were on duty on the Grand Parade in Cork. Thousands gathered in one area for a Munster-wide pro-Palestine march, and nearby for what was billed as a "national protest for Ireland," organised by anti-immigration campaigners. Several prominent far-right agitators were involved in that event, including former Ireland First leader Derek Blighe. Hermann Kelly of the Irish Freedom Party was among those attending. Garda Mounted Unit at Grand Parade Cork to support the Garda Public Order Unit as two protest marches take place on Saturday afternoon. Picture: Larry Cummins Rebel News, a Canadian-based far-right online news website, had a reporter on the ground covering what it described as a rally of Irish patriots opposed to the Government's mass immigration policies. Crowd control barriers were in place to keep both sides apart. The Garda Air Unit patrolled the skies above, and with road closures and diversions in place, there was widespread disruption to public transport timetables. Following initial chanting, some verbal insults were traded back and forth between sections of both crowds before the marches began. Protest march to City Hall, Cork on Saturday afternoon. Picture: Larry Cummins The pro-Palestinian campaigners were marshalled in one direction — down St Patrick's Street, onto Oliver Plunkett Street, and back to the Grand Parade for speeches and music — while the anti-immigration protest marched in the other direction, down the South Mall at around the same time, to gather on MacSwiney Quay outside City Hall for speeches. Gardaí have not given out official crowd estimates, but organisers of the pro-Palestine march, the Cork Palestine Solidarity Campaign — who record attendance at their weekly rallies — have put their numbers at just over 4,500 people. They heard calls on the Irish Government to place sanctions on Israel, pass the Occupied Territories Bill, and stop the Central Bank of Ireland from authorising the sale of Israeli bonds in Europe. Cork Palestine Solidarity Campaign weekly protest march in Cork City against the atrocities in Gaza. Picture Larry Cummins Naser Swirki, a theatre and film director who was born in Gaza and now lives in Skibbereen spoke of the horror that Israel is inflicting on people who are trying to survive in his country. 'In Gaza, death spares no one — doctors, children, the displaced, and even hope itself,' he said. 'In Gaza, instead of saying, "See you tomorrow," they say, "See you in heaven." 'Parents memorise their children's clothes to identify their remains later. 'They struggle to get a piece of bread, offering it before bed, so their children don't die while they're still hungry.' Protest march to City Hall, Cork on Saturday afternoon. Picture: Larry Cummins Limerick-based Palestinian poet Tamar, 26 — whose four brothers and parents are still in Palestine — and activist Tadhg Hickey were also among the speakers. It is estimated that around 3,000 people marched in the 'national protest for Ireland' rally, with many carrying tricolours. They heard speakers criticising government immigration and housing policy. Mr Blighe also addressed the Irish diaspora and said Irish nationalists want to give them a 'homeland to return to.' Garda Mounted Unit at Grand Parade Cork to support the Garda Public Order Unit as two protest marches take place on Saturday afternoon. Picture: Larry Cummins Wearing a set of blue rosary beads on his left wrist, he said the government wants to put climate, diversity and foreigners first. 'What counts in my heart is to put the Irish first,' he said. The organisers of both events encouraged participants to behave responsibly. Both events passed off peacefully and there was just one arrest for an alleged public order offence. Read More Stricter regulations needed at Cork camper van site after excrement dumped in fields, council hears
RTÉ News
an hour ago
- RTÉ News
Dawn French apologises for video about Israel-Hamas conflict
Comedian Dawn French has apologised after posting a video online about the Israel-Hamas conflict, saying she "clumsily used a mocking tone" and it "appeared one-sided". The Vicar of Dibley star posted a video on social media this week in which she switched between her normal voice and a higher-pitched voice. In the video about the conflict, she said: "Complicated, no, but nuanced", adding: "Bottom line is, no." Then at one point she said in a higher-pitched voice: "Yeah, but you know they did a bad thing to us." French has now posted a statement on X saying she has taken down the video and apologised, saying her intention was never "to mock, or dismiss, or diminish the horror of what happened" during Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack on Israel. The statement, posted on Saturday, said: "Ok, it's important to address this. "I posted a video in the style I've been using for social media in an effort to convey an important point. I clumsily used a mocking tone. "My intention was NEVER to mock, or dismiss, or diminish the horror of what happened on 7 October 2023 and what continues to unfold from that brutal unthinkable, unforgivable, savage attack. "My heart broke for the many innocent people and their families that were killed, tortured, r@ped (sic) and kidnapped. The fact that hostages are still held is utterly appalling. "My intention was to mock and point the finger of shame at the behaviour of the cruel leaders on ALL sides of this atrocious war, who have continued to behave like the worst, dangerous, sickening bullies and seem to relish the tyrannical and childish oneupmanship of the violence. THEY were my target, but clearly I failed to do that, and that's on me. I apologise unreservedly. I'm particularly sorry that my disgust at Hamas didn't figure. It appeared one-sided, and that is wrong. "I am a person, who like many others, is feeling increasingly helpless and hopeless as we witness the carnage and destruction worsen. The images of starving and wounded children have haunted me day and night. History has taught us never to stand by and allow this kind of inhumane violence to be wrought on anyone, especially innocent children. "I have felt my silence is complicit or even somehow sanctioning. So in my small way I wanted to voice my desire to say NO - to BOTH sides - to any further violence. "I hope you will understand my intention was not to offend, but clearly I have. For which I'm sorry and I have removed the video." Of the 251 hostages taken during Hamas's attack that triggered the Gaza war, 55 remain in captivity, including 31 the Israeli military says are dead. The 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to AFP calculations of official figures. According to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, at least 54,677 people have been killed in the territory since the start of the war, also mostly civilians.
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
Body of Thai hostage retrieved from Gaza as Israeli air strikes kill 45
The Israeli military has retrieved the body of a Thai hostage who had been held in Gaza since Hamas's October 7th, 2023, attack on Israel , defence minister Israel Katz said on Saturday, as Israeli air strikes killed 45 people, said local medics. Nattapong Pinta's body was held by a Palestinian militant group called the Mujahedeen Brigades, and was recovered from the area of Rafah in southern Gaza, Mr Katz said. His family in Thailand has been notified. Mr Pinta, an agricultural worker, was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, a small Israeli community near the Gaza border where a quarter of the population was killed or taken hostage during the Hamas attack that triggered the devastating war in Gaza . Israel's military said Mr Pinta had been abducted alive and killed by his captors, who had also killed and taken to Gaza the bodies of two more Israeli-American hostages that were retrieved earlier this week . READ MORE There was no immediate comment from the Mujahedeen Brigades, which has previously denied killing its captives, or from Hamas. The Israeli military said the Brigades were still holding the body of another foreign national. Only 20 of the 55 remaining hostages are believed to still be alive. The Mujahedeen Brigades also held and killed Israeli hostage Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, according to Israeli authorities. Their bodies were returned during a two-month ceasefire, which collapsed in March after the two sides could not agree on terms for extending it to a second phase. [ In pictures: Many in Gaza face malnutrition as blockade enters third month Opens in new window ] Israel has since expanded its offensive across the Gaza Strip as US, Qatari and Egyptian-led efforts to secure another ceasefire have faltered. Medics in Gaza said 45 people in total were killed in Israeli air strikes across the enclave on Saturday. At least 15 Palestinians were killed and 50 wounded by air strikes in the Gaza City district of Sabra in the northern Gaza Strip on Saturday, local health authorities said. More than one missile landed in the area. The target seemed to have been a multi-floor residential building, but the explosion damaged several other houses nearby, according to witnesses and media. The Israeli military did not immediately comment. It later warned people to evacuate the nearby district of Jabalia, saying it was going to strike there after rockets were launched by militants in the vicinity. The Palestinian Health Ministry said on Saturday that Gaza's hospitals only had fuel for three more days and that Israel was denying access for international relief agencies to areas where fuel storage designated for hospitals are located. There was no immediate response from the Israeli military or COGAT, the Israeli defence agency that co-ordinates humanitarian matters with the Palestinians. The United Nations has warned that most of Gaza's 2.3 million population is at risk of famine after an 11-week Israeli blockade of the enclave, with the rate of young children suffering from acute malnutrition nearly tripling. Aid distribution was halted on Friday after the US – and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) said overcrowding had made it unsafe to continue operations. It was unclear whether aid had resumed on Saturday. On Wednesday, the GHF suspended operations and asked the Israeli military to review security protocols after Palestinian hospital officials said more than 80 people had been shot dead and hundreds wounded near distribution points between June 1st-3rd. [ Gaza aid group halts distribution due to civilian safety concerns after dozens killed seeking aid Opens in new window ] The GHF began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May, overseeing a new model of aid distribution which the United Nations says is neither impartial nor neutral. It says it has provided about nine million meals so far. Israel is facing growing international pressure over its offensive against Hamas, which has plunged Gaza into a humanitarian crisis and displaced most of its population. Hamas-led militants took 251 hostages and killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, in the October 7th attack, Israel's single deadliest day. Israel's military campaign has since killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to health authorities in Hamas-run Gaza, and left much of the densely populated coastal enclave in ruins. Families of remaining hostages fear that those alive are in danger from the continued Israeli offensive and those dead will be lost forever. Israel says the campaign is aimed at bringing them all back. More than 40 hostages have been killed in captivity, some in the course of Israeli strikes and others killed by their captors. – Reuters
