Israeli singer Eden Golan receives a hero's welcome as she flies back home after defying pro-Palestine hate mob's efforts to sabotage her Eurovision stint by coming fifth

Israeli singer Eden Golan arrived home to a hero's welcome after one of the most controversial Eurovision Song Contest finals ever staged - admitting that the past few days had 'not been easy' as she battled protests and calls for her to be excluded.

The 20-year-old singer left Malmo under armed guard just hours after the competition finished and posted a video of herself emerging from an aeroplane in Israel waving the country's flag and clutching a bouquet of flowers.

She was then filmed cheering and screaming with delight as friends and family greeted her in the airport and chanted her name. She wrote: 'my heart is so full. my rock. my family. i love you guyssssss.'

Commenting on the past few days in Malmo, which led to Ms Golan being under intense political pressure because of Israel's war in Gaza she wrote: 'where do I begin? first let me start by saying how proud I am of how far we got. I'm honoured and grateful to represent my country especially during these trying times.

'From the moment we started this journey our goal has always been to share the strong voice of Israel on one of the biggest stages and i believe we accomplished just that. to say it was easy would be a lie, but with your support and love it gave me the strength to continue and put on the absolute best performance i knew I could.'

Ms Golan finished in fifth place with her song Hurricane. She said that she dedicated her appearance at Eurovision to the hostages still being held by Hamas.

She wrote: 'Lastly, I dedicate my participation in the ESC to the voices we can't hear, the hostages-we are desperately waiting for you all to return home.'

Loud boos could be heard when she performed but were muted for viewers watching at home by the European Broadcasting Union, which televises the event.

During her stay in Malmo, Ms Golan was forced to remain in her hotel for most of the time and was being protected by armed agents from Sweden's security agents and those from Shin Bet, Israel's security agents.

Thousands of pro Palestine protestors took to the streets of Malmo to demand her expulsion with violent clashes breaking out with police outside the Malmo Arena, where the final was taking place.

Among the protestors outside the arena was Greta Thunberg, who was detained by police along with dozens of other protestors.

The activist wore a keffiyeh scarf over a black fleece and her hair was tied back as police dragged her away as the Eurovision final was getting underway.

A large mob attempted to storm through barriers to get into the arena on Saturday night, leading to riot police rushing in and forming a cordon around the entrances.