Iceland’s public broadcaster, RUV, announced on Tuesday that it will consider withdrawing from the Eurovision Song Contest due to Israel’s participation.
The statement indicated that a final announcement regarding the question of the country’s participation in the competition will not be made before March.
RUV’s announcement came after nearly 10,000 Icelanders, representing 2.5 percent of the population, signed a petition calling for Israel to be disqualified from the competition.
The Association of Composers and Lyricists of Iceland, which organized the petition, said that "we all have a duty to take a stand against war and the killing of innocent civilians and children."
The European Broadcasting Union announced in December that it rejected calls to ban Israel's participation in Eurovision 2024 because of the war in Gaza.
The EBU made clear at the time that Israel complies with the rules and as such, will take part in the competition.
In 2019, Iceland expressed opposition to the possibility of Israel holding the Eurovision Song Contest in Jerusalem. Ultimately, the competition was held in Tel Aviv.
Iceland was later fined by the EBU after its representatives brandished scarves with Palestinian Authority flags when the final results were being announced at the end of the event, in what was deemed an infringement on Eurovision rules banning political gestures.