Stephen Lendman

Israel murders Palestinians with impunity, Western leaders largely turning a blind to high crimes demanding accountability.

On the phony pretext of combating nonexistent Palestinian terrorism, Israeli soldiers and police escalated state terror last October - committing daily murders, mass arresting innocent victims, systematically brutalizing an entire population, victimized by state-sponsored barbarism.

Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom urged conducting “credible (independent) investigations into (Palestinian) deaths in order to clarify and bring about possible accountability” - suggesting Israeli responsibility for “extrajudicial killings.”

Sweden recognizes Palestinian self-determination, Wallstrom saying it’s “Israel’s friend and the Palestinians’ friend, and both states have a right to exist.”

Israel responded to her remarks as expected, calling them “irresponsible and delusional,” ignoring hard truths, wanting them suppressed, tolerating no criticism of its ruthless agenda.

Last month, Wallstrom accused Israel of extrajudicially executing alleged Palestinian assailants - without affording them due process and judicial fairness.

Anyone justifiably criticizing Israeli viciousness is automatically called anti-Semitic - Jewish critics labeled self-hating. On Wednesday, Deputy Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely said “Israel is closing its gates to official visits from Sweden.”

In 2014, Arab-hating ultranationalist extremist then Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman recalled Israel’s ambassador from Stockholm, protesting Sweden’s recognition of Palestinian self-determination.

On Wednesday, Israel summoned Sweden’s ambassador Carl Magnus in response to Wallstrom’s remarks.

Foreign Ministry director general for Western Europe Aviv Shir-On expressed the “fury of the Israeli government and the people of Israel over (what he called) a distorted view of reality, as well as (Wallstrom’s forthright comments) indicating her (wrongfully claimed) biased and hostile attitude toward Israel," according to ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon.

“Given (her) harmful and baseless position…Sweden has excluded itself in the foreseeable future from any role with regard to Israeli-Palestinian relations,” he added.

Wallstrom “give(s) support to terror and thus encourag(es) violence.” Rogue states notoriously want their high crimes suppressed.

In a Wednesday address to the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, ideologically over-the-top Israeli Foreign Ministry director-general Dore Gold defended the indefensible - calling longstanding Israeli state terror self-defense, claiming regime critics “actively encourage…terror…”

Israel is one of the world’s most ruthless regimes. Democracy is pure fantasy. Institutionalized racism and state terror reflect official policy.

War without mercy rages against defenseless Palestinians. Extrajudicial killings and other atrocities occur daily. Torture is longstanding practice.

The world community is largely indifferent to slow-motion genocide, an entire population at risk.

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Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks World War III".

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.