Helena Lindholm, professor of peace and development studies at the University of Gothenburg, says the Swedish government is far too passive in the face of Israel’s abuses against the Palestinians and is not doing enough to stop the genocide in Gaza.
In an opinion piece, Lindholm points out that at least 42,000 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Israel launched its bombing campaign and ground invasion in “response” to Hamas’ attack on 7 October – and that 15,000 of them are children.
Including indirect deaths, this could be close to 200,000 Palestinian deaths. Gaza is currently described as the most dangerous place on earth for children – at a time when two million people are displaced and unable to leave the region.
Lindholm points out that Israeli genocide researchers last autumn called Israel’s actions a textbook example of genocide, and that as a signatory to the Genocide Convention, Sweden has an obligation to try to prevent such crimes.
“Genocide is defined by the Convention as acts aimed at ‘the total or partial destruction of a national, ethnic or religious group’. The point is that the intention of the violence is directed against a specific group, i.e. Palestinians are killed because they belong to the group of Palestinians,” she notes.
#Gaza: another attack on an @UNRWA school. This time in Jabalia, north of the Strip.
Scores of people reported killed, among them too many children who were sheltering in the building.This is the third such attack on UNRWA facilities this week alone.
Meanwhile, I received…
— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) October 18, 2024
“Displacement, ethnic cleansing and starvation”
“Israel has used a multi-faceted political and military strategy against the Palestinian population for decades under occupation. This strategy has involved displacement, ethnic cleansing, blockade and restriction of movement as well as of the entry and exit of goods into Gaza which in 2023-2024 involved the use of starvation as a weapon, destruction of civilian infrastructure, arbitrary detentions, torture of prisoners, control, surveillance, occupation and apartheid”, she further explains.
It also points out that Israeli ministers have openly stated that starving the people of Gaza is “morally right” and that dehumanisation is openly taking place as Israel appears to be carrying out the forced displacement of 400,000 Palestinians from northern Gaza.
“In the West Bank, settler violence is on the rise, egged on by ministers in the Israeli government. People and entire villages are being displaced and land seized. There has also been a marked increase in military violence, while the International Court of Justice has ruled that the occupation is illegal and the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution in September requiring Israel to leave the occupied territories within 12 months.”
An airstrike in Gaza hit a hospital courtyard on Monday, burning tents where people were sleeping.
Strikes also hit an @UNRWA school where families were sheltering. The location was meant to be used as a polio vaccination site.
A ceasefire is urgently needed to stop the… pic.twitter.com/kLfVTHEXQC
— United Nations (@UN) October 14, 2024
Points to Norway
Despite all the reports of ethnic cleansing and mass murder of Palestinians, Lindholm says the Swedish government has “remained passive”, noting that there are still no “Swedish condemnations of the killing”.
“Even as the war spreads and Israel seeks to redraw the political map throughout the Middle East, which has included an attack on UN bases, there is no clear Swedish signal”, she laments.
She points to Norway, Spain and Ireland as positive examples and emphasizes that they have chosen to take a much more critical stance against Israeli crimes – and that “Sweden should follow these examples”.
“Otherwise, we risk silently witnessing a genocide without trying to prevent it and dismantling the international system’s principles on human rights that are equal for all, on the laws of war and on crimes against humanity”, she warns.
