Greta Thunberg accused Israel of committing war crimes and genocide in the Gaza Strip, demanding an end to “inexcusable violence” days after Israeli forces resumed attacks against Palestinian militant group Hamas.
“The horrific murders of Israeli civilians by Hamas cannot in any way legitimise Israel’s ongoing war crimes,” the Swedish activist said in an opinion piece published Tuesday in several outlets. “Genocide is not self-defence, nor is it in any way a proportionate response.”
Thunberg, whom Israel has lambasted for publicly showing her support for the Palestinian cause, pushed back against accusations that her activist movement, Fridays for Future, has “been radicalised” or “become political.”
“We have always been political, because we have always been a movement for justice,” she wrote. “Standing in solidarity with Palestinians and all affected civilians has never been in question for us.”
In the fiery op-ed with other members of the Fridays for Future Sweden group, Thunberg slammed Swedish military cooperation with Israeli arms companies, which she says “makes Sweden complicit in Israel’s occupation and mass killing.”
“Demanding an end to this inexcusable violence is a question of basic humanity, and we call on everyone who can to do so,” Thunberg said. “Silence is complicity. You cannot be neutral in an unfolding genocide.”
Thunberg also pointed to the “sharp increase” in antisemitic and Islamophobic acts across the world, including in Sweden, where far-right Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Åkesson recently suggested demolishing mosques and where a group of protesters burned the Israeli flag near a synagogue in Malmö.
“This is unacceptable,” she wrote. “We unreservedly condemn all forms of discrimination, including antisemitism and Islamophobia.”
Last week, Israel renewed its offensive in Gaza after a truce between Israel and Hamas collapsed. The offensive, launched in response to Hamas’ own surprise attack against Israel which killed more than 1,200 people, has killed more than 15,000 Palestinians so far, according to both the Palestinian Authority and Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.
