Israel outraged by Swedish FM’s remarks on Paris attack

Israel said it was outraged by the Swedish foreign minister’s remarks which linked the Paris attacks to the hopelessness of the Palestinian people.

“To counteract the radicalisation we must go back to the situation such as the one in the Middle East of which not the least the Palestinians see that there is no future: we must either accept a desperate situation or resort to violence,” Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström told television network SVT2T.

When asked if she was worried about the radicalisation of young Swedes to join Daesh, Wallström said: “Obviously, we have reason to be worried, not just in Sweden but across the world — because there are so many that are being radicalised. Here, once again, we are brought back to situations like the one in the Middle East, where not least, the Palestinians see that there is not a future. We must either accept a desperate situation or resort to violence.”

Later on Facebook she called for people to “search for the causes of extremism before starting to fight it.”

The Israeli foreign ministry summoned the Swedish ambassador to Tel Aviv to protest against Wallström’s remarks. Yesterday, spokesman Emmanuel Nachshon described Wallström’s remarks as “ridiculous in their rudeness”.

“The Swedish foreign minister is systematically biased, hostile and one-sided against Israel when she points to the connection between the attacks in Paris and difficulties between Israel and the Palestinians,” Nachshon added.

Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely of the Likud party said the comments were “blatant and vile anti-Semitism”.