© www.swemfa.seMargot Wallstrom, the foreign minister of Sweden
The comments come amid the violence in the occupied Palestinian territories in the recent past which have led to the killing of nearly 150 Palestinians. Hundreds more Palestinians have been injured since October last year, when Israeli forces intensified attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Comment: In addition, 15,759 Palestinians were injured, 92 seriously—including 58 journalists and 103 emergency medical personnel. Among Israelis, 385 were injured, 33 seriously.
Israelis claim most of the Palestinians killed or injured in recent violence are teenagers who stabbed or attempted to stab Israeli forces and settlers. They say 25 Israelis have been killed in the violence which was triggered by the Israeli regime imposing restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East al-Quds (Jerusalem) in August 2015. The move drew the deep resentment among Palestinians, triggering the recent wave of tensions.
The Tel Aviv regime has also increased the number of illegal arbitrary detentions of Palestinians, accusing them of contemplating plans to attack Israeli troops and settler units. Rights groups said on Monday that at least 14 Palestinians received the so-called administrative sentences and dozens more saw similar sentences renewed. It said more than 7,000 people are currently behind bars in the Israeli detention centers.
In making the occupation permanent, Israel’s leaders are undermining their state’s viability. Unfortunately, domestic movements to avert that fate have withered. Thanks to an economic boom and the temporary security provided by the West Bank barrier and the Iron Dome missile defense system, much of Israel’s secular Zionist majority feels no need to take the difficult steps required for a durable peace, such as evicting their countrymen from West Bank settlements and acknowledging the moral stain of the suffering Israel has caused to so many Palestinians.
We are at a critical juncture. Settlement growth and demographic trends will soon overwhelm Israel’s ability to change course. For years, we have supported Israeli governments — even those we strongly disagreed with — in the belief that a secure Israel would act to defend its own long-term interests. That strategy has failed. Israel’s supporters have, tragically, become its enablers. Today, there is no realistic prospect of Israel making the hard choices necessary to ensure its survival as a democratic state in the absence of outside pressure.