Letter to the editor. It matters little who wins the election in Israel

So it was election time in Israel - a heavily segregated, racist, unequal and aggressive country that for some inexplicable reason is seen as "the only democracy in the Middle East" - and regardless of the outcome, and whichever government takes office, not much will improve for the Palestinians, whether those living in Israel itself or under occupation in Palestine.

None of the dominant parties have any plans whatsoever to either end the abuses in Gaza and the displacements in the West Bank, or the abolition of the occupation and settlement policies that are the whole reason for the conflict in this part of the world.

It is true that even the Arab minority of around 20 percent has the right to vote in the Israeli elections - but at the same time, an apartheid system with over 60 laws means that the country's non-Jews cannot, for example, take any jobs, live where they want and not marry whom they want.

Most evident in this colonial “settler democracy” is the so-called nation-state law of 2018 which declares Israel a country for exclusive Jewish development, encourages the building of Jewish communities – even on occupied land – and abolishes Arabic as an official language.

And if the choice for the Israeli-Palestinian citizens is little of a make-believe choice, it is completely absent among all the Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. Here, the occupying power rules with the help of around 1,800 so-called military orders that curtail and limit virtually every aspect of Palestinian life.

And in Gaza, the killing and starvation continue, despite the now year-long "ceasefire" while the Israeli military keeps moving its "yellow line" and slowly pushing two million people into the sea.

In our part of the world, there is talk of the election in Israel as a "fateful choice", an election decisive for "Israel's self-image" and the country's "position in the world". But who should care about the self-image of a country that engages in occupation, land theft and displacement of people in its neighboring country, and whose leadership is internationally wanted for suspected war crimes and crimes against humanity?

What should be of concern, however, is our own country's role in this. The favorable trade agreement with Israel. Cooperation in science, sport and culture. And not least the arms cooperation with the minister suspected of genocide.

According to the UN's highest legal body, the International Court of Justice in The Hague, all countries are obliged not to assist Israel in its occupation in any way, something that the current government is thus openly violating. When we, hopefully soon, get a new Swedish government in place, it is important that it - as the human rights group Civil rights defenders recently pointed out in a debate article - can "present a clearer policy to defend international law and counter impunity for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide".