News

Icelanders Are More Sympathetic To Palestine

 

Many more Icelanders say they are sympathetic to Palestine than Israel, according to a recent survey conducted by Maskína and reported on by RÚV. Participants were asked whether they sympathised more with the Palestinian cause or the Israeli cause, or equally with both. The responses indicated that 72.5% sympathised more with Palestine.

Protesters call on the Icelandic government to act on already-approved family reunifications of Icelandic visa holders in Gaza. Photo: Erik Pomrenke / icelandreview.com

Of those respondents, 54.4% stated they sympathised much more with the Palestinian cause while 18.1% stated they sympathised somewhat more with Palestine. A total of 9.5% of respondents stated that they sympathised more with Israel than Palestine. Of those, 6.1% stated they sympathised much more with Israel and 3.4% somewhat more. 17.9% of respondents stated they sympathised equally with both.

Majority supports cutting diplomatic ties with Israel

A majority of respondents, or 53.6%, stated they were in favour of cutting diplomatic ties with Israel. Of those respondents, 33.9% were strongly in favour while 19.7% were somewhat in favour. 30.4% stated they were rather or strongly opposed to cutting diplomatic ties, with 19.3% strongly opposed and 11.1% somewhat opposed.

A larger proportion of female respondents (67.3%) supported cutting diplomatic ties with Israel than male respondents (42.4%). A majority of respondents also supported imposing trade sanctions on Israel, or 61.1%. A total of 22.5% opposed such sanctions.

The survey was conducted between September 6-10 and had 944 respondents from around the country, all aged 18 and up.

Locals criticise Icelandic government

Locals in Iceland have held regular protests since October 7 calling on the Icelandic government to condemn Israeli authorities for their actions and use its influence to call for a ceasefire in the conflict. Iceland abstained from voting on a ceasefire in an emergency meeting of the UN in October but voted in support of a ceasefire at a later UN meeting.

Locals have also criticised the Icelandic government for dragging its feet in extracting Icelandic visa holders from Gaza and suspending funding to UNRWA in January. The country reinstated UNRWA funding in April 2024.

The Iceland-Palestine Association hosted a solidarity march for Palestine and Lebanon in Reykjavík on October 5   to mark one year of resistance against the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

First Minister to Call Israel’s Actions “Genocide”

Minister Guðmundur Ingi Guðbrandsson. First Minister to Call Israel's Actions "Genocide". Photo: Golli / icelandreview.com

Minister of Social Affairs and Labour, Guðmundur Ingi Guðmundsson, called Israel’s actions in Gaza a genocide and welcomed a motion by a fellow party member which would impose economic sanctions on Israel.

Escalation of conflict

Guðmundur Ingi is the interim chairperson of the Left-Green Movement. At a party meeting yesterday, he criticised Israel’s actions in the West Bank and became the first Icelandic minister to describe the Gaza war as genocide. He said it was the duty of the Left-Green Movement to support Palestine’s cause.

“In Palestine, Israel acts with tyranny in the West Bank and genocide in Gaza,” he said. “Israel’s government doesn’t seem to respect international law or the International Court of Justice’s rulings. We’re seeing an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East with Israel’s invasion in Lebanon. It’s not easy to imagine where this will end.”

Economic sanctions

He added that Iceland’s government has called for Israel and Hamas to agree on a ceasefire. “This can’t be delayed further,” Guðmundur Ingi said. Palestinians have a full right to exist in accordance with the two state solution. We all know that the USA is a key party to make this happen.

Guðmundur Ingi went on to champion a parliamentary motion by Steinunn Þóra Árnadóttir, a member of parliament for the Left-Green Movement, which calls for economic sanctions against Israel.

Source: Iceland Review (4.10.2024), Iceland Review (5.10.2024)

07.10.2024