Portuguese director drops out of Israel festival over Gaza

JERUSALEM (AP) - A Portuguese theater director has cancelled his attendance at a major cultural festival opening in Jerusalem this week over Israel's treatment of the Palestinians.

Tiago Rodrigues said he is dropping out of the Israel Festival so that his work will not "condone and promote a government that deliberately violates human rights." In a Facebook post on Thursday, he said he was joining a global cultural boycott of Israel that has seen some artists and musicians refuse to perform in Israel.

Rodrigues' declaration came after Israeli forces shot and killed nearly 60 Palestinians during a violent protest last week along the border with the Gaza Strip. His cancellation follows international fallout from that violence. Israel faced global condemnation over what critics say was its excessive use of force.