Sweden is funding weapons used to kill Palestinians.

Seventh AP Fund, the Swedish pension fund, increased its investments in Israeli arms companies from $40 million before October 7, 2023, to $500 million — thanks to contracts, shares and investments that took advantage of the “Al-Aqsa surge.” The substantial support this fund provided to the Israeli military-industrial complex represented a major boost for Israeli arms firms and a significant financial inflow that enabled them to continue producing weapons of killing and destruction used against Palestinians.

The fund’s profits from these investments reportedly exceeded $1 billion, prompting it to further raise its investment levels in pursuit of greater returns — on the corpses of children, women and the elderly in Gaza — despite United Nations agencies stating that such deals constitute violations of human rights, a value Sweden loudly proclaims to protect.

Seventh AP Fund focused its investments on developing the Israeli company ICI Group, which is involved in producing white phosphorus — internationally prohibited and documented as used by occupying forces against civilians in Gaza. It is striking that a country that punishes those who harm a dog or cat can simultaneously enable investments that contribute to grave harm to human lives.

Security and media reports also reveal that Swedish investment firms Movestic and Lysa have profited from investments in the well-known Israeli weapons company Elbit, which has been blacklisted by several investment funds worldwide. Those investments have reportedly exceeded tens of millions of krona, despite UN human-rights experts’ call in June of last year to ban arms exports to Israel and their warning that investors in Israeli arms firms could be partially responsible for potential war crimes. Elbit is one of Israel’s largest defense companies and has faced broad international criticism for its ties to the Gaza conflict and use of technologies in operations considered violations of international law.

This crime is not limited to the pension fund and the Swedish firms mentioned; other pension funds in Europe and the United States follow the same pattern, seeking higher profits and supporting what critics call an elimination campaign in Gaza. The statutes of many of these funds formally prohibit investments in entities that violate human rights, yet their managements took no measures to halt such investments and, on the contrary, encouraged and expanded them. Companies implicated in supporting the tragedy include the American firm PALANTIR and the British firm ROLLS-ROYCE.

These revelations expose the hypocrisy of European claims about trying to stop wars in the Middle East and Ukraine; it becomes clear that they are enriching Western defense companies — profiting from wars, conflicts, and the export of weapons and equipment to battlefields to sustain killing and destruction.

Trade and investment in armaments and military industries have proven an easy path to enrichment and profit for European officials — often coordinated with corrupt politicians — who present a different face in rhetoric than in practice, prioritizing revenue even when it comes at the expense of Palestinian blood and the destruction of their homes.