By Leila Nezirevic
LONDON (AA) - Eight protesters have been charged in Sweden for speaking out against the Israeli war in the Gaza Strip during a foreign policy debate in parliament last month, according to the Siren news agency on Wednesday.
Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom was interrupted by protesters Feb. 14, who shouted in support of Palestinians by saying Israel is committing genocide, while he was presenting the government's foreign policy declaration.
Billstrom said, "Sweden stands behind Israel's legitimate right to defend itself against Hamas in accordance with international law and international humanitarian law," when he was interrupted by a protester who shouted: "Israel commits genocide. How can you stand for this?"
The protesters continued chanting when several were removed by the security guards and charged with disrupting the administration of justice. One person is still being held by police.
"Everyone sees and everyone hears how children in Gaza die," they said.
Sweden has for years been one of Europe’s most committed nations to the Palestinian cause, going as far as to become the first EU member to recognize Palestine as a state in 2014.
But almost a decade later, Sweden’s current right-wing administration has presided over a radical shift with its support for Israel.
After an Oct. 31 attack by Israel leveled an entire residential square in northern Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp, Billstrom dismissed the outcry at the hundreds of civilians who were killed and injured in the attack and characterized Tel Aviv’s actions as “proportionate, in relation to its right to defend itself.”
Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on Gaza since a cross-border attack on Oct. 7 by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, in which Tel Aviv says around 1,200 Israelis were killed.
More than 32,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed and over 74,500 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities in Tel Aviv’s brutal response.
International organizations, including UN agencies, have demanded a cease-fire in Gaza and increased humanitarian aid access to address medical shortages, hunger, thirst and hygiene deficiencies leading to diseases in Gaza.
The UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees said March 10 that "hunger is everywhere" in Gaza.
According to the latest data from Gaza's Health Ministry, 27 people have died from malnutrition and dehydration in the Gaza Strip due to Israel's blockade, which has caused a massive "humanitarian disaster."
The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.
Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.