(Stockholm) – Sweden’s political parties should clarify their positions in advance of the September 2026 general election on how they intend to implement international court rulings on Israel and Palestine, seven civil society organizations said in a questionnaire sent to political groups. The organizations expressed concern over Israel’s breaches of human rights and the laws of war, which continue to cause immense suffering and destruction in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Lebanon, and the broader region.
The questionnaire is a joint initiative by Act Swedish Church, Amnesty Sweden, Diakonia, Swedish Fellowship of Reconciliation, The Swedish Peace and Arbitration Society, Human Rights Watch, and Oxfam Sweden.
“There is broad political consensus in Sweden that international law should be respected, but little has been done to ensure that Israeli authorities comply with it”, said Måns Molander, Nordic director at Human Rights Watch. “We are now asking parties to clarify how they intend to translate that principle into concrete action, so that people can make informed choices when they go to the polls.”
The questionnaire is grounded in three landmark international legal developments:
- The International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion of July 2024, which found Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory to be illegal under international law and marred by serious abuses, including apartheid, laying out obligations for all states to ensure Israel’s compliance;
- The ICJ’s advisory opinion of October 2025, which affirmed Israel’s “‘unconditional” obligation to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, and dismissed allegations against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the main UN relief agency providing basic services to Palestinians, as baseless;
- The November 2024 arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
The ICJ’s July 2024 advisory opinion found Israel’s occupation to be illegal, and said that Israel should cease all new settlement activity and dismantle existing settlements. The Israeli government has done the opposite. Earlier in April, the Israeli cabinet approved 34 new settlements in the occupied West Bank: the highest number ever approved at one time. The current government has approved 103 settlements since it took office in 2022, nearly doubling the number of illegal settlements in the West Bank.
The court also made clear that all countries are obligated to bar aid or assistance to Israel’s occupation, including by banning trade with illegal settlements. Spain has already introduced a national ban while Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Belgium have committed to follow suit. However, the EU and Sweden have failed to act, allowing businesses to continue profiting from or contributing to ethnic cleansing and apartheid.
In April, the Swedish government presented a proposal for the EU to increase tariffs on imports from settlements, but that wouldn’t satisfy the obligation to “take steps to prevent trade or investment relations that assist in the maintenance of the illegal situation created by Israel in the [OPT],” as laid out by the court. A complete ban is needed.
Sweden was one of the largest and most long-term core donors to UNRWA, but ended its funding in December 2024 and has not reinstated it, unlike the other regular donors, which reinstated support during 2024. Sweden has cited concerns regarding the organization’s operational ability in light of Israel’s decision to ban it from operating in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and allegations against the organization that were dismissed as unfounded by the court’s advisory opinion in October 2025.
Since February 2025, seeking to shield US and Israeli officials from facing ICC charges, the US government has used an executive order to impose sanctions on the ICC prosecutor, the two deputy prosecutors, eight ICC judges, the United Nations special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967, and three leading Palestinian human rights organizations: Al-Haq, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights.
“Support for the rules-based international order should also require ICC members, including Sweden, to show they are steadfast in their own obligations under the Rome Statute,” Molander said. “This should include affirming Sweden’s commitment to enforce all ICC arrest warrants, including those issued against Netanyahu and Gallant.
