Time for clarity: what is happening is genocide

LO Sweden on Gaza

The Middle East is burning. The conflict between Israel and Iran is escalating and the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza continues. 

Gaza is not a ‘war zone’. It is an isolated and bombed-out open-air prison where over two million people are forced to flee for their lives. Tens of thousands of civilians, men, women and children, have already been killed by the brutal violence of the Israeli right-wing government, and the mass killings continue. Starvation is being used as a weapon, and Israeli ministers are now openly talking about completely emptying Gaza of Palestinians through expulsion and ethnic cleansing. 

It is time to speak clearly: what the world is witnessing is not Israeli self-defence. It is ongoing genocide. 

The violence has also reached the West Bank, which is illegally occupied by Israel. Our sister organisation, the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU), reports that a large number of Palestinian workers have been attacked and killed by Israeli settler extremists. Many can no longer support their families because the labour market has completely collapsed and there is no social security system. Israel is withholding employees' wages and several families are now completely without income. 

It is time for Sweden and the rest of the EU to put pressure on the Israeli government. But instead, the Swedish government is passive and submissive. They do not even dare to call violations of international law what they are. Instead, Sweden has suspended its aid to Palestine and is the only EU country not to have resumed its support to UNRWA, the UN relief agency in Gaza. This is shameful. 

LO Sweden stands in solidarity with the Palestinian people and with our sister trade union organisations. We have a responsibility to raise our voices and take action when international law is violated. Silence is not an option. 

LO demands: 

• That the Swedish government act for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. All parties must respect international law. Hamas must immediately and unconditionally release the Israeli hostages. All war crimes must be investigated and those responsible held accountable. 
• That Sweden resume its aid to Palestine and its support to UNRWA. 
• That the EU suspend its association agreement with Israel until the Israeli government complies with international law. Sanctions against Israeli settlers must be tightened and all trade in goods from the illegal settlements must cease. 
• That peace negotiations is initiated with a view to a future in which Palestinians and Israelis can live side by side in two democratic states. Israelis and Palestinians have the same right to live their lives in peace, freedom and security.