A Norwegian Eurovision judge has admitted anti-Israel bias in his voting for the song contest’s grand final.

In response to “a flood of messages and comments” regarding the Norwegian jury’s allocation of eight points to Israel, Daniel Johansen Elmrhari, also known as Daniel Owen posted a video on Instagram to explain that he did not play a part in awarding those points.

In the post, which was in Norwegian with English subtitles, the singer and dancer said that the points for Israel “came as much of a surprise to me as it did to you”. He explained that each jury member votes individually without the possibility of discussing how many points to allocate to each country, in order to avoid mutual influence and ensure fair judgement. “Therefore, it is important for me to clarify that I was not involved in the allocation of points to Israel,” he said.

Elmrhari detailed the rules around maintaining impartiality and avoiding discrimination that the judges were given before voting in the competition. Before the broadcast, the jury was shown an introduction video emphasising: “You must not favour or discriminate against any participant based on nationality, gender, suitability, political views, or any other reason others then the song and performance. Do not let political views affect how you evaluate a song and/or an artist.”

However Elmrhari, a Norwegian singer and dancer, said that he did not feel able to abide by those principles. “Given the current situation, it was impossible for me to overlook this. What is happening in Palestine is heartbreaking, and I cannot in any way support Israel’s actions. In my opinion, Israel should not have been allowed to participate in Eurovision at all.

"Eurovision promotes the motto “United by Music”. But when the party is over and the music has stopped, the situation remains unchanged. This is something we cannot ignore. Although I was not involved in the allocation of points to Israel, I still want to apologise for this being shown from the Norwegian jury. My heart and all my support go out to Palestine. Free Palestine.”

Elmrhari was joined on the Norway jury by Lars Horn Lavik, Annprincess Johnson Koffa, Gunilla Sussmann and Lisa Stokke.

Norway, who threatened to boycott Eurovision if Israel participated, finished in last place with 16 points. Ahead of the grand final, the Norwegian presenter Alessandra Mele, who represented the country at last year’s contest, posted on Instagram to say she had withdrawn from announcing the points awarded by Norway in protest against Israel.