MojNews-A group which represents Iceland musicians asked the country officials to withdraw from Eurovision competition if Israel is allowed to participate.

More than 19,400 people, mostly women and children, have been killed as a result of Israeli airstrikes and ground operations in Gaza, the latest figures from the health ministry in the Palestinian enclave suggest, according to Russia Today. The Israeli military launched its attacks on Gaza in response to an incursion into occupied territories by Hamas on October 7, which left some 1,200 armed settlers and Israeli soldiers dead, and more than 200 taken to the Gaza Strip as prisoners.

“We all have a duty to take a stand against war and the killing of civilians and innocent children,” the Association of Composers and Lyricists of Iceland (FTT) said in a statement on Facebook last week.

The FTT called on the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service (RUV) “not to participate in Eurovision in 2024 unless Israel is denied participation in the competition on the same grounds as Russia in the last competition.”

“We owe it to the nations that act with military force to not share with them in an event that is always characterized by joy and optimism,” the musicians said.

A petition urging Iceland to boycott Eurovision 2024, which is scheduled to take place in Malmo, Sweden in May, had also been started, gathering more than 9,300 signatures. The island nation has a population of some 372,000.

The statement by the FTT was made in the wake of the RUV’s board meeting. However, the issue of withdrawing from the Eurovision was reportedly not considered during the gathering.