Sweden's Left Party Urges ICC Probe for Israeli Minister Ben-Gvir

Sweden's Left Party is calling on the government to take action against Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, urging him to be investigated by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged apartheid. The party cites Ben-Gvir's inflammatory statements, including remarks about killing "30 or 40" Gazans daily and referring to Palestinians as "not even human."

Håkan Svenneling, the Left Party's foreign policy spokesperson, argued that the existence of separate legal systems for Palestinians and Israelis, coupled with a clear risk of executions of Palestinians, warrants an ICC investigation. He pointed to Sweden's previous referrals of situations concerning Russia's war in Ukraine to the ICC as a precedent for action.

"We believe that Sweden should be able to refer the current situation with Itamar Ben-Gvir to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and its prosecutor, according to Article 14 of the Rome Statute, for investigation into crimes of apartheid, crimes against humanity, or persecution of a group," Svenneling stated.

However, Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard has described Ben-Gvir's statements as "inhumane." While she plans to push for EU sanctions against him, the government believes this approach would be more impactful than Sweden acting unilaterally. The government's stance suggests a preference for collective international pressure over individual legal referrals initiated by Sweden.

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We believe that Sweden should be able to refer the current situation with Itamar Ben-Gvir to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and its prosecutor, according to Article 14 of the Rome Statute, for investigation into crimes of apartheid, crimes against humanity, or persecution of a group