The S-students, affiliated with Sweden's Social Democrats, urge the country to lead efforts in the UN to deploy peace-enforcing troops to Gaza. They argue that neither the Palestinian Authority nor Israel can protect civilians amid ongoing violence, and stress the importance of international intervention. The call comes as the Swedish government considers freezing trade agreements with Israel to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Swedish Students Demand UN Troops in Gaza to Protect Civilians
Swedish Students Demand UN Troops in Gaza to Protect Civilians
The S-students want Sweden to take the lead in addressing the Gaza issue and demand that the UN deploy military forces to the region.
– "We want to see a peace-enforcing UN force with a clear mandate to protect civilians from violence and abuse," says chairperson Elfva Barrio.
Increasingly, the situation in Gaza is being described as a suspected genocide. Following Hamas's violent terror attack on Israel, civilians have been killed, and widespread hunger prevails.
According to the S-students, a branch of the Social Democrats, it is evident that neither the Palestinian Authority nor Israel is capable of protecting the civilian population in the conflict, prompting the student organization to call for more action.
– "According to international law and UN principles, we have the opportunity and obligation for the international community to intervene and protect the population when a state fails to do so," says Elfva Barrio.
Therefore, the S-students want Sweden to push within the UN to send peace-enforcing forces to Gaza. These would consist of soldiers from member countries and have a mandate to use proportional force if necessary to protect civilians.
Cannot Stand By
According to Elfva Barrio, the government has the power to push this agenda, but she emphasizes that the student federation will also work to get the Social Democrats to support the demand.
– "It is important that we in Sweden stand on the right side of history and do not just stand by and watch as this happens," she says.
Elfva Barrio views the government's current stance to freeze the trade agreement with Israel, to pressure Netanyahu's government to allow emergency aid into Gaza, as positive. Her federation has advocated for freezing the association agreement for over a year now.
According to the student chairperson, many of her members are deeply engaged in the Palestinian issue and international solidarity.