Swedish Left Party MP apologizes for praising convicted Palestinian terrorist

Ilona Szatmári Waldau, a member of Sweden's Left Party, withdrew a social-media letter that lauded Palestinian prisoner Ahmad al-Moghrabi and said the endorsement resulted from faulty fact-checking.

In a social-media post last year, Left Party MP Ilona Szatmári Waldau expressed admiration for Palestinian inmate Ahmad al-Moghrabi, describing his struggle as inspiring and promising political solidarity. Al-Moghrabi, serving 18 life sentences in an Israeli prison, was convicted for leading al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades attacks that killed civilians, including children, during the 2002 bar mitzvah bombing. Waldau later deleted the message, apologizing and attributing the error to flawed fact-checking.

Center Party secretary Hannes Hervieu and Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard rebuked the Left Party, saying such praise reveals a lack of responsibility and points to recurring anti-Semitic and pro-terrorist sentiments. Prior investigations have identified dozens of party members with similar extremist statements, leading to several expulsions. Left Party leader Nooshi Dadgostar dismissed the allegations as isolated, while critics argue the episode underscores a troubling trend within the party.