Israeli singer Eden Golan secured an impressive fifth place in Saturday night’s Eurovision Finale, backed by a strong showing in the popular vote.

As per The Times of Israel, the 20-year-old artist emerged as one of the top contenders to win after qualifying for the finals. Her song “Hurricane” received the second-highest tally in the public vote, but was only 12th overall in the jury vote, leading to her fifth-place finish with 323 points in the televote, trailing only Croatia, which received 337 points and wound up in second place overall.

“From the very first moment we had one goal, which was to make Israel’s strong voice heard in the world, and I know that we accomplished that goal in a big way,” Golan told Kan News after her exhilarating performance, adding, “I don’t forget for one moment our hostages, and I dedicate my participation in the contest to them!”

During Golan’s performance, boos were reportedly heard amongst the applause, although they were muted by anti-boo technology deployed by the European Broadcasting Union, which stages the contest each year.

Prior to Saturday’s finale, thousands of pro-Hamas demonstrators gathered in central Malmo, waving Palestinian flags and chanting “Eurovision united by genocide” and “Eurovision, you cannot hide, you support genocide,” calling for a boycott of Israel’s participation, according to the report.

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