Pixies Cancel Gig in Israel Following Flotilla Violence

Indie rock heavyweights the Pixies are the latest in a string of international music acts to cancel tour dates in Israel following the violence aboard Gaza-bound aid ships.

The Pixies pulled the plug at the last minute on the Pic.Nic 2010 music festival in Tel Aviv, the AP reports.

"It is with great regret that we announce today the Pixies' decision to cancel their appearance in Israel on June 9," the band's promoter Shuki Weiss said.  "We'd like to extend our deepest apologies to the fans, but events beyond all our control have conspired against us."

Brit supergroup the Gorillaz and their countrymen the Klaxons, both headline acts for the same music festival, also axed their appearances.

Festival organiers said the Israeli commando raid that killed 9 pro-Palestinian activists was the reason for the cancellations, the AFP reports.

Citing "despicable acts of violence perpetrated in the name of liberation," Elvis Costello cancelled tour dates in Israel three weeks ago.  "It is a matter of conscience of instinct and consience," the singer wrote on his website.

A cultural boycott campaign of Israel has been launched in recent months by Palestinian groups in protest of the Gaza occupation.

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