Greta Thunberg arrested during Palestinian protest at Eurovision Song Contest

Climate activist Greta Thunberg was arrested by Swedish police in Malmo on Saturday for taking part in a pro-Palestinian protest rally outside the Eurovision Song Contest venue.

Thunberg, who was wearing a keffiyeh, was led away from the event by police, according to footage of the incident. Police said in a statement they had “handled a number of unauthorized public gatherings” and taken several people into custody, but it was not immediately clear whether Thunberg was among them or whether charges would be filed against them.

“I am here to show that we find it outrageous and inexcusable that the Eurovision Song Contest allows Israel to take part and at the same time commits genocide.” Thunberg said in a statement.

The demonstration was organized to protest Israel’s participation in Eurovision while Israel is at war in the Gaza Strip. 20-year-old Israeli singer Eden Golan qualified to take part in the 68th edition of the song competition earlier this week.

Golan was greeted with loud cheers and boos at dress rehearsals and in the semi-finals on Thursday, the BBC reported.

“It is truly a great honor to stand here on stage and represent (Israel) with pride,” Golan said.

According to the Gaza Health Ministry, Israel’s attack on Gaza, part of efforts to root out Hamas terrorists after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, has killed over 30,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The protest coincides with Israel’s planning of a ground offensive in Gaza that the United Nations has warned will mean carnage. U.S. President Joe Biden and his aides have urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in phone calls and meetings to consider other courses of action because Israel’s current plan to blow up Rafah will inevitably harm civilians.

Israeli authorities early Saturday ordered Palestinians to evacuate more areas of Rafah, the southern city where Israel forced civilians to seek safety early in the war.

Student movements around the world have sparked a series of protests against Israel’s war in Gaza, from Columbia University in New York to Cambridge in the United Kingdom and hundreds of other schools. Police cracked down on protests, leading to thousands of arrests.