SVT Nyheter37 minutes agoPolitics2 min read

The Left Party is criticized for meeting with Fatah politicians who expressed hatred of Jews

Quick Look

Left Party party leader Nooshi Dadgostar and party secretary Maria Forsberg attended a meeting with Fatah politicians Taysir Nasrallah and Mohammad al-Lahham, who have previously expressed anti-Semitic statements and glorified terror.
Researcher Magnus Ranstorp criticizes the meeting as serious and questions the party's judgement, while Forsberg confirms the meeting but says that the party meets representatives without sharing their values.

AI-generated summary

Why It Matters

The Left Party has previously had contacts with various international organizations and parties. Fatah is a Palestinian political party that has been involved in both peace negotiations and armed conflict with Israel. Anti-Semitism and glorification of terror are serious accusations that can affect the party's credibility in foreign policy matters.

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They have previously expressed hatred of Jews and glorified terror.

"The world has had enough of Jews"

According to GP, Taysir Nasrallah said in 2024 on Palestinian television that anti-Semitic attacks on Israeli soccer supporters showed that the incident was the "clearest proof that the world has had enough of the Jews and has had enough of this Israeli arrogance." This was reported by the Israeli organization Palestinian Media Watch (PMW).

He has also said that "martyrdom" is a "sacred value". Nasrallah is a central leading representative of Fatah and a member of the party's Revolutionary Council.

Mohammad al-Lahham was noticed in October 2022 for a statement on Palestinian television in which he praised "martyrs" and, among other things, referred to a man who killed three people in a terrorist attack in Tel Aviv earlier that year, GP writes.

The researcher: "Seriously"

Magnus Ranstorp, researcher in terrorism at the Norwegian Defense Academy, in an interview with GP sharply criticizes the fact that they were invited to the Riksdag.

- This is the continuation of a pattern, I think, which is serious and raises fundamental questions about the judgment of the Left Party. This is not about criticism of Israel. One of them says the world is tired of Jews. It is pure anti-Semitism, he says.

Dadgostar at the meeting

Both party leader Nooshi Dadgostar and party secretary Maria Forsberg were at the meeting where the Fatah politicians were, GP writes. In a picture published by the Palestinian site SHFA, Dadgostar and Forsberg can be seen with the representatives.

GP has applied for V. In a written reply from Maria Forsberg, she confirms that the meeting had taken place.

"We, like other parties, often meet people representing states and foreign organizations and parties without sharing all values or opinions with them and without investigating in detail their background," she wrote.

V did not answer how the party views the Fatah politicians' statements, whether the party knew about it or who attended the meeting.

What to Watch

AI outlook — possibilities, not facts

The Left Party will publicly respond to the criticism and clarify its view on the meeting with the Fatah politicians.
Likely · Within days
The debate about Swedish parties' contacts with foreign organizations that express extremist views will intensify in the media.
Very likely · Within weeks

Open Questions

Did the Left Party know about the anti-Semitic statements before the meeting?
What other topics were discussed at the meeting besides those mentioned in the article?
Will the Left Party reevaluate its policy on meetings with foreign organizations after the criticism?