Pro-Palestine supporters have accused Eurovision of permitting vote-rigging after Israel came close to winning this year’s dramatic showdown.

RTVE, Spain’s public broadcaster, and VRT, the Flemish public broadcasting company, are calling for organisers to investigate the televoting system.

It comes after support for Yuval Raphael, Israel’s contestant, soared and she ended up scoring 357 points.

The country was only beaten by Austria’s JJ, who received 436 points for his song Wasted Love.

The entrants receive points from a professional jury from each country, as well as from a public vote. The maximum amount of points from any country’s jury or the public is 12.

Belgium and Spain’s televoters both awarded Israel 12 points, despite the juries giving the country zero points.

Viewers at home can vote up to 20 times for a small cost charged per vote by text or phone call.

RTVE, Spain’s public broadcaster, and VRT, the Flemish public broadcasting company, are calling for organisers to investigate the televoting system. It comes after support for Yuval Raphael (pictured), Israel’s contestant, skyrocketed and she ended up scoring 357 points

Ms Raphael, a survivor of Hamas’s assault on the Nova music festival on Oct 7 2023, was disrupted in her final performance in Basel, Switzerland, by pro-Palestine protesters. A crowd ‘booed’ and ‘jeered’ as she sang and two audience members had to be stopped as they attempted to storm the stage

It followed protests calling for a boycott of the competition as well as an open letter signed by 4,000 musicians, artist and music industry pros from five Nordic countries denouncing the Middle Eastern country’s entry. Pictured: Pro-Palestinian demonstrators set alight an Israel and a US flag at the protests in Basel  

The competition organizer, European Broadcasting Union (EBU), confirmed Spain and Belgium’s broadcasters had reached out and insisted it took the complaints ‘seriously’.

Katia Segers, a Flemish parliamentarian, said: ‘A system in which everyone can cast up to 20 votes is a system that encourages manipulation.

‘Whether this manipulation occurred in our country and all other participating and non-participating countries must be investigated.’

She added: ‘The VRT must take the lead in requesting this investigation. And in holding the debate on the televoting system within the EBU, and on Israel’s participation.’

Martin Green, the director of Eurovision, said: ‘It is important to emphasise that the voting operation for the Eurovision Song Contest is the most advanced in the world and each country’s result is checked and verified by a huge team of people to exclude any suspicious or irregular voting patterns.

‘An independent compliance monitor reviews both jury and public vote data to ensure we have a valid result.’

He added: ‘We remain in constant contact with all participating broadcasters of the Eurovision Song Contest and take their concerns seriously.’

Israel’s participation in Eurovision has provoked an angry backlash from pro-Palestine voices.

Ms Raphael, a survivor of Hamas’s massacre at the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023, was disrupted in her final performance in Basel, Switzerland, by pro-Palestine protesters.

Israel’s participation in Eurovision for a second consecutive year amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza and investigation for war crimes by the International Criminal Court has sparked fury. Pictured: Droves of protesters flocked to Barfüsserplatz in the heart of the Swiss city, which is hosting this year’s Eurovision contest

The country was only beaten by Austria’s JJ (pictured), who received 436 points for his song Wasted Love

A crowd booed and jeered as she sang and two audience members had to be stopped as they attempted to storm the stage.

It followed protests calling for a boycott of the competition as well as an open letter signed by 4,000 musicians, artist and music industry professionals from five Nordic countries denouncing the Middle Eastern country’s entry.

Those who signed the statement, including some previous Eurovision winners, dubbed Israel’s involvement in the competition a bid to ‘whitewash and divert attention’ from Israel’s war in Gaza.

It argued that Israel ‘should not have the opportunity to polish its public image on the Eurovision stage and thus use this to cover up and continue its human rights violations.’

During Saturday’s grand finale, Spanish broadcaster RTVE was heavily criticized after it took a stand against Israel’s inclusion during their country’s broadcast.

For 16 seconds, viewers saw a black screen with white lettering in Spanish and English that read: ‘When human rights are at stake, silence is not an option.

‘Peace and Justice for Palestine.’

EBU’s Mr Green added: ‘We can confirm that we have been in touch with VRT and RTVE since Saturday’s grand final regarding voting in the competition.

‘Now the event has concluded, we will have a broad discussion with participating broadcasters, to reflect and obtain feedback on all aspects of this year’s event as part of our planning process for the 70th Eurovision Song Contest next year.’

A spokesman from VRT said they had ‘no indication’ the vote count was incorrect, but said: ‘The main question is whether the current voting system guarantees a fair reflection of the opinions of viewers and listeners.

‘VRT notes that the Eurovision Song Contest, as it is currently organised, has become less and less of a unifying and apolitical event.’

The spokesman added: ‘VRT calls for full transparency from the EBU about the rules and voting … without a serious answer to our concerns regarding the Eurovision Song Contest, we do question future participation.’

MailOnline has contacted Eurovision for comment.