HELSINKI, March 14, 2007 (AFP) - Organisers of the Eurovision Song Contest on Wednesday cleared "Push the Button", the controversial Israeli entry about nuclear destruction, to compete in this year's event.

"All songs delivered have been cleared," said Svante Stockselius, executive supervisor of the contest.

"Push the Button", by the group Tea-Packs, was a comfortable winner in last month's contest inside Israel, when voters were asked to select one of four songs offered by the group for entry in the competition.

Although the song does not mention any names, the lyrics could be taken to refer to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has repeatedly called for the Jewish state to be wiped off the face of the map:

"There are some crazy rulers, they hide and try to fool us

With demonic, technologic willingness to harm

Theyre gonna push the button."

The song features a mix of ethnic Mediterranean music and rock, coupled with lyrics in English, French and Hebrew.

"We do not comment on individual cases but a couple of songs caused some discussions," said Stockselius on Wednesday.

"(The) Eurovision song contest has very detailed rules for the songs: they can have no explicit wording, no coarse language, nor any political propaganda," he added.

At the time the song was selected, the band's flamboyant frontman Kobi Oz told reporters: "The idea is to do something that crosses the accepted norms. True art stirs controversy."

A statement issued by the group on Wednesday said: "The group Tea-Packs is not a political group.

"The messages of the song are universal and express an aspiration for global peace and the personal fear of violence in general, a fear which is part of every human on the globe."

The song did not take a political stand either explicitly or by implication, the statement added.

"It does not refer to countries, continents, names of people and may, just like any other text, be subjectively interpreted in many different ways and angles".

Last year's Eurovision Song Contest attracted 100 million viewers across Europe and was won by the Finnish group Lordi, who performed their entry, "Hard Rock Halleluja" dressed in monster masks and costumes.

This year's contest will take place on May 12 in Helsinki and will feature 42 entries.

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