22 Palestine student societies and groups in Britain have called for a boycott of the Eurovision song contest which is being held in Israel.

“The student Palestine societies and groups in the UK urge all students, academics and artists to boycott the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest, which will be held from 14 to 18 May 2019 in Tel Aviv, Israel,” a statement by the groups said.

The Israeli government is using Eurovision to whitewash its ongoing denial of Palestinian rights and continued illegal occupation of Palestinian land, according to the statement.

The statement highlighted that as Israel was declared winner of last year’s competition, 60 Palestinians were being killed as they participated in peaceful protests in Gaza.

“More than a century after they were first dispossessed by the British government’s Balfour Declaration, the Palestinian people are facing a new Nakba in form of Donald Trump’s ‘Deal of the Century’,” they warned.

“This plan seeks to destroy the Palestinian people and dismantle their collective rights. We must stand in unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian people as they face this latest assault.”

Among the signatories were the General Union of Palestinian Students in the UK (GUPS-UK), Oxford Students’ Palestine Society, Cambridge University Palestine Society, KCL Action Palestine Society, Imperial College Friends of Palestine, BDS Campaign – University of Manchester, University of London Palestinian Society and Northumbria University Friends of Palestine.