In the advertisement for Sunday’s Palestine demonstration in Gothenburg, the organizers use an image with symbols for two terrorist organizations, including Hamas.”Yes, we feel that it is time to show open support for the resistance groups that are fighting for the liberation of Palestine and against a protracted and disgusting genocidal war,” one of the organizers writes to DN.
For just over two years, pro-Palestinian demonstrations have been held regularly in Gothenburg, often at Gustaf Adolfs Torg. This has been the case since the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, in which around 1,200 people were killed and 250 were taken hostage.Israel’s response was bombing Gaza. By late autumn 2025, over 69,000 people had been killed in Gaza, according to Hamas-controlled authorities.Following the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, the organizations Samidoun and Floden arranged a joint demonstration in Gothenburg a little over a month ago, on October 12.
Afterwards, Samidoun thanked Floden for their cooperation and wrote that they were happy about the ceasefire, but also that “this is a time to escalate, to shout even louder, take to the streets and take our fight to a new level!”In the speech in the square,
as quoted on the website, it was said that this should be done by “exposing and isolating the false leadership in the Palestinian Authority” and described various armed groups, such as the al-Qassem and al-Quds Brigades and Hezbollah as “our heroes” “we refuse to call terrorists!”.
The advertisement published on social media ahead of Samidoun Göteborgs and Flodens’ demonstration at Gustaf Adolfs Torg this Sunday included an image that was published a few years ago by the television channel al-Mayadeen in Lebanon, often described as being close to the armed group Hezbollah.
The image shows a group of armed and masked men, each wearing headgear with symbols of different organizations.According to Aron Lund, Middle East and North Africa analyst at the Swedish National Defense Research Institute, FOI, the image shows representatives from many different armed groups.– I can only see three symbols clearly. The person in the black hat belongs to the Mujahedin battalions. The colleague on the right in the green headband is from Hamas, and next to him in the red headband is a man from the PFLP, says Aron Lund.
Lund says that the Mujahedin Battalions are a smaller group in the Gaza Strip that previously broke away from Fatah’s armed wing.– Hamas probably needs no further introduction and the PFLP stands for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Hamas and the PFLP have been on European terror lists for a long time, says Lund.Samidoun Gothenburg describes itself as a group focusing on Palestinian political prisoners and working for boundless solidarity with the oppressed and exploited.
DN has asked the organizers of the demonstration to comment on the ad and the organizations the armed men represent. They responded via email.Representatives of Samidoun Gothenburg write:”Yes, we feel it is time to show open support for the resistance groups fighting for the liberation of Palestine and against a protracted and disgusting genocidal war.”They also write that “the organizations shown in the image are often misrepresented and misunderstood in Western media” and that, “as part of the solidarity movement, we stand unconditionally in solidarity with their struggle.”
Those who call themselves the Palestine Action Group and have the symbol for the River at the top of their Facebook page also have the ad in their feed.About the ad, their representative writes that “for us it is about highlighting the internationally recognized right of an occupied people to resist.”The organizer’s representative also writes that “we are aware that certain groups are labeled terrorists by Western states, but we also believe that these classifications are often made without considering the entire political and historical context.”
Regarding the choice of image, it is written: “The purpose of the image is therefore to bring back a human perspective and to nuance the stereotypical images that often dominate” but that the choice of image “does not mean that we take a position on any specific organization or any individual action (…)”.DN has asked the Palestine Groups in Sweden, which brings together around twenty local groups, how they view the use of an image with, among other things, Hamas symbols in connection with a demonstration.Project coordinator Johanna Wallin responds that they do not arrange demonstrations in Gothenburg and do not comment on other people’s arrangements, nor are they aware of the current situation.
The Segerstedt Institute operates within the University of Gothenburg, and its mission is to contribute to increased knowledge about preventive work against violence-promoting ideologies, violent structures, anti-Semitism and racist organizations.
Regarding the current advertisement, the institute’s director Christer Mattsson says:– Without knowing more precisely what each participant thinks is legitimate resistance, the organization chooses to illustrate the ad with representatives that Swedes in general should be able to identify as terrorists.Mattsson also says that he reacts to the fact that one of the organizers calls himself “Floden”.– It is close to the name of Hamas’ code for the terrorist attack on October 7, 2023, the al-Aqsa River.
