Amid a flood of internal criticism, the centre-right government in Sweden appears to be backtracking on its “one-sided” stance towards Israel, potentially including its calls to cut off EU trade.
Last week, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson announced that Stockholm wanted a suspension of the trade agreement between the European Union and Israel over supposed failures in “fulfilling its most basic obligations” around humanitarian aid in Gaza.
Members of all three governing coalition parties were quick to criticise the stance, which many argued failed to recognise that Hamas was to blame for the start of the war with the October 7th terror attacks and therefore bears the primary responsibility for the suffering of the inhabitants of Gaza.
Coalition partner and leader of the right-wing populist Sweden Democrats (SD), Jimmie Åkesson, wrote in the Expressen newspaper that pushing to freeze trade with Israel “is not only economically and diplomatically harmful – it is morally wrong and politically short-sighted.”
Åkesson went on to say that if his party had known that the government would have been “so erratic and weak in Middle Eastern politics,” it would have pushed for foreign policy guarantees in the coalition agreement that saw his party join the government in 2022.
Israel’s ambassador to Stockholm, Ziv Nevo Kulman, thanked Åkesson for his “important contribution that clarifies the reality – that so many others quietly support.” This marked a notable shift from Jerusalem towards the SD, which had previously refused to have any contact with the populist party for being too “far-right”.
The pressure from Åkesson and others saw Christian Democrat Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch come out on Tuesday to say that the government’s announcement last week was too one-sided, acknowledging that Hamas is the main belligerent and telling Aftonbladet that “Israel is doing the whole world a favour,” in confronting the Islamist terror group.
“The root of the war we see between Israel and Hamas is precisely Hamas. It was Hamas that started this war with the terrible terrorist act almost two years ago. It is Hamas that chooses to continue holding hostages, it is Hamas that chooses not to sign peace agreements. And we need to increase the pressure on Hamas to lay down its weapons,” she said.
In addition to agreeing to put more pressure on Hamas, through financial and other sanctions, Busch said that Sweden also plans to move its embassy to Jerusalem and recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
The Christian Democrat leader went on to suggest that the government’s stance towards freezing trade between the EU and Israel is not written in stone, saying that if Israel “does more or if it shows that there is no way” it can do more to deliver aid, then “there is no reason to maintain the government’s position.”
The backtracking from Stockholm after internal pressure comes in stark contrast to fellow Western European nations such as France and the United Kingdom, both of which have said in recent days that they plan to recognise Palestinian statehood — despite the territory lacking defined contiguous borders or a democratically legitimate government that doesn’t sponsor terrorism — following pressure from left-wing politicians.
In a statement provided to Breitbart London, the European Jewish Association said: “This is a powerful example of what happens when evidence, ethics, and long-term strategic thinking are allowed to lead policy.”
“We commend the Christian Democrats for their willingness to reassess their position and speak with moral clarity about the true source of violence in the region.”
Follow Kurt Zindulka on X: Follow @KurtZindulka or e-mail to: [email protected]
Read the full article here