Momika has made global headlines for burning and desecrating the Quran in Stockholm on several occasions this year.
Iraqi migrant Salwan Momika has caused outrage once again after raising the Israeli flag and disrespecting the holy Quran in Sweden, as Tel Aviv intensifies its brutal bombardment on the besieged Gaza Strip, where more than 1,700 children have been killed.
Momika, who has made global headlines for burning and desecrating the Quran in Stockholm on several occasions this year, was seen kissing the blue and white flag while trampling on the holy text.
“Today I declare my solidarity with the great Israel,” he wrote in a post accompanying the video online.
In July, Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence issued an official statement stating that Momika had been recruited by Mossad back in 2019. According to the Iranian intelligence ministry, Momika’s Quran desecration was a coordinated effort with Israel designed to divert attention from the Israeli military’s violence against indigenous Palestinians.
Also in July, Tel Aviv launched one of its largest attacks in years in the West Bank city of Jenin, killing twelve Palestinians.
“This is the usual practice of the Zionists, who, alongside their campaigns of murder and destruction, implement criminal projects to deflect attention from their sinister operations,” the statement said.
The Iranian statement cited Israeli attacks on the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank and accused Momika of “playing a major role” in spying on Iran-backed Iraqi militias and contributing to the destabilisation of Iraq prior to his arrival in Sweden.
The statement further alleged that Momika had sought residency in Sweden from Israel in exchange for his services.
The Iraqi has consistently triggered global controversy and condemnation due to his relentless provocations against Muslims, all of which have been carried out at symbolic locations, including embassies, mosques, and even the Riksdag, Sweden’s parliament.
This is not the first time Momika has openly carried out his inflammatory actions.
Swedish authorities provided him a permit to desecrate the holy Quran during a demonstration outside a Stockholm mosque on 28 June, and a similar incident occurred on 20 July when he stepped on the holy scripture.
These actions occurred in the lead-up to Eid Al-Adha and followed a Swedish court decision to overturn a police ban on Quran-burning demonstrations.
The latest stunt in support of Israel comes at an extremely sensitive time.
Israel has ordered a complete siege on Gaza since the start of its deadly war on the Palestinian territory on October 7, exacerbating the struggle of the area’s 2.3 million population. Half of Gaza’s population is children under the age of 15.
The blockade, which denies Palestinians access to water, electricity and food, has been widely slammed as a form of “collective punishment” on Palestinians.
So far, Israel has killed more than 4,385 Palestinians, including more than 1,756 children—who represent a third of the total casualties.
Meanwhile, there has also been a recent surge in settler attacks on Palestinians in the cccupied West Bank.
Since the attacks on 7 October, more than 540 Palestinian Bedouins have been forced out of their homes in the occupied West Bank. The death toll in the West Bank, an area where Hamas does not operate, has now reached 90.
The deadly escalation in the West Bank has continued despite the fact that Tel Aviv has been using the existence of Hamas as justification for its brutal war.
