Basel authorities clarify threatening gestures against Israel at Eurovision
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Basel authorities clarify threatening gestures against Israel at Eurovision
The Basel cantonal police are investigating the alleged threatening behaviour of an anti-Israel demonstrator at the Eurovision Song Contest parade that took place on Sunday. The police are preparing a report on the incident, wrote the public prosecutor’s office on Monday at the request of Keystone-SDA news agency.
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The Israeli public broadcaster Kan had previously announced on its website that it would be filing a complaint against the demonstrator with the Basel authorities.
Kan published a video of Sunday’s parade to mark the start of the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC), which was also shared on social media. It shows a man with a Palestinian flag and a whistle performing a beheading gesture. This is said to have been aimed at the Israeli ESC delegation with singer Yuval Raphael, writes Kan. Raphael is a survivor of the Hamas terrorist attack on the Nova music festival in Israel on October 7, 2023.
+ Eurovision opens with parade through Basel
The man protested against the Israeli delegation during the parade along with other people near the Middle Bridge, as can be seen in the video. Kan also writes that she contacted the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) about the incident. At the request of the Keystone-SDA news agency, the EBU referred the matter to the Basel authorities.
Translated from German by DeepL/jdp
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