A heavy police presence has built up outside Eurovision’s Malmo Arena after pro-Palestine protesters drowned out the rehearsal of Israel’s entrant.

Eden Golan, 20, took to the stage on Wednesday for her dress rehearsal ahead of the second semi-final of the song contest.

Her performance was met with booing from the crowd and videos posted to social media showed the vocal disapproval of the country’s involvement in the contest amid the ongoing war in Gaza.

She will take to the stage in front of the Eurovision crowd for the first time on Thursday evening, and more than five police vans have already gathered outside the Malmo Arena ahead of the event.

In a statement following the rehearsal of her song Hurricane, Golan said: “I am proud to represent my country, particularly this year.

“I am receiving support and love and I am determined to give my best performance tomorrow in the semi-final and nothing will deter me from that goal!”

It comes amid heightened tensions at the 68th Eurovision Song Contest in Malmo, Sweden, over Israel’s involvement in the event.

Protesters against Israel competing were stopped from heading down a road of Malmo’s square.

The pro-Palestinian demonstrators were told to go back from police and, following shouts of “free Palestine”, returned to the main gathering.

Police officers from Sweden, along with Norway and Denmark, have been regularly patrolling Malmo Arena, the city centre and the Eurovision village amid the threat of protests and disruption.

A pro-Palestinian march will take place on Thursday afternoon, which a spokesman for the force said would cause “disturbance to traffic”.

The organisers of the march say the demonstration, which will end at Molleplatsen Park, will take place at 3pm.

Golan, 20, will compete against Norway’s Gate, San Marino’s band Megara, Switzerland’s Nemo and Danish entrant Saba, who called for a ceasefire in Gaza and the “safe return” of Israeli hostages in a joint statement in March.

The artists rejected calls from Palestinian groups to boycott the music contest, saying that they “firmly believe in the unifying power of music”.

Golan, who has been singing and dancing on stage since she was a child, told ITV News this week that she could not have asked “for a better year to be representing my country”.

Her emotional track Hurricane was reworked from a previous song called October Rain, which was renamed after it was thought to reference the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.

The contest has so far been plagued by rows over Israel’s participation amid the country’s ongoing military campaign against Hamas in Gaza, now in its seventh month.

At the opening ceremony on Tuesday, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organises the event, expressed “regret” that a Swedish star had taken to the stage wearing a distinctive keffiyeh to show his support for Palestine.

In an Instagram story, pop star Eric Saade explained that the material was a “way of showing a part of my origin” and was a gift as a child from his father, who is of Palestinian origin.

He also said: “I just wanted to be inclusive and wear something that is authentic to me - but the EBU seems to think my ethnicity is controversial.

“It says nothing about me, but everything about them.”

It has been made clear to attendees and contestants that Eurovision is a non-political event and therefore no political statements are permitted.

Ireland’s non-binary entrant Bambie Thug revealed after their performance on Tuesday night that they had been barred from writing “ceasefire” and “freedom for Palestine” on their body.

Speaking at a press conference after the first semi-final, they said: “It was very important to me [to include those messages] because I’m pro-justice and pro-peace.

“Unfortunately,” they revealed, “I had to change those messages today to just “crown the witch” in an order from the EBU.”

The EBU also announced last week that they reserve the right to remove any Palestinian flags or pro-Palestine symbols at the show this week, which runs from Tuesday to Saturday.

Ticket holders are only allowed to bring and display flags representing countries that are taking part in the event, as well as the rainbow-coloured flag.

In April, the organisers hit out against the “unacceptable and totally unfair” abuse of competitors amid “the backdrop of a terrible war in the Middle East”.

Israel, which performs towards the end of the night on Thursday, has been a strong contender at Eurovision in recent years, last winning with Netta’s Toy in 2018 and qualifying for the final 12 times since 2003.