Left Party invited Fatah officials who expressed antisemitism and praised terrorism

The Left Party invited two Palestinian officials from Fatah’s Revolutionary Council to the parliament building despite previous statements expressing hatred towards Jews and praising terrorism, according to an investigation by Göteborgs-Posten. SVT reports that party leader Nooshi Dadgostar attended the meeting.

The meeting took place on October 6, 2025. The guests were Taysir Nasrallah, a representative of Fatah’s Revolutionary Council, and council member Mohammad al-Lahham.

The invitations come after a series of reports about praise for terrorism and antisemitism within the Left Party. Göteborgs-Posten’s investigation found that the party’s senior leadership had also hosted Palestinian representatives who had been criticised for similar views.

According to the Israeli organisation Palestinian Media Watch, Nasrallah said on Palestinian television in 2024 that attacks involving antisemitic elements against Israeli football supporters showed that “the world has had enough of Jews and enough of this Israeli arrogance”. He has also described “martyrdom” as a “sacred value”.

Al-Lahham was highlighted in October 2022 for comments on Palestinian television in which he praised “martyrs” and referred to a man who killed three people in a terrorist attack in Tel Aviv earlier that year, Göteborgs-Posten reported.

Magnus Ranstorp, a terrorism researcher at the Swedish Defence University, sharply criticised the invitation in an interview with Göteborgs-Posten.

“This is a continuation of a pattern, in my view, that is serious and raises fundamental questions about the Left Party’s judgement. This is not about criticism of Israel. One of them says that the world is tired of Jews. That is pure antisemitism,” he said.

Dadgostar and party secretary Maria Forsberg were both present at the meeting, according to Göteborgs-Posten. A photograph published by the Palestinian website SHFA shows them with Nasrallah and al-Lahham. Left Party representative Yekbun Alp also appears in the image.

The Left Party confirmed in a written response from Forsberg that the meeting took place.

“Like other parties, we often meet people who represent states, foreign organisations and parties without sharing all their values or opinions, and without investigating their backgrounds in detail,” Forsberg wrote.

The party did not answer questions about its view of the Fatah officials’ statements, whether it knew about them or who attended the meeting.