Having upset The Sauds (by exposing the truth about The Kingdom's subjugation of women and medieval laws) [5], and hurt relations with Saudi Arabia, Swedish foreign minister Margot Wallstrom has now made an enemy of another Middle-East nation. Israel has barred Wallstrom from entering their nation after she called for investigations into "extrajudicial killings" during recent violence.
As Ynet News reports, [6] Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom called on Tuesday for an investigation to determine whether Israel was guilty of extrajudicial killings of Palestinians during recent violence there, local media reported.
The comments were the latest in a series of statements by Wallstrom that have irked Israeli authorities. Ties between Sweden and Israel nose-dived when Sweden recognized the Palestinian state shortly after Wallstrom's center-left Social Democrats won a parliamentary election in 2014.
The rift then deepened further when she described the Palestinians' plight as a factor leading to Islamist radicalization.
"It is vital that there is a thorough, credible investigation into these deaths in order to clarify and bring about possible accountability," Wallstrom said during a parliamentary debate, according to news agency TT.
In response, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement: "The Swedish Foreign Minister has, in her reckless and ludicrous comments, buoyed terrorism and by so doing is encouraging violence."
Wallstrom publicly accused Israeli of "extrajudicial killings" in December during a discussion at the Swedish parliament about the ongoing wave of violence and terror attacks raging in Israel.
Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven caused controversy in December when he said stabbing attacks were not considered terrorism.
And that has led to this:
Swedish foreign minister Margot Wallstroem barred from official visits, Swedish news agency TT reports, citing Israeli ministry of foreign affairs.
So it appears, migrant-friendly Sweden is slowly working its way around the Middle-East upsetting everyone... by "allegedly" telling the truth and asking the hard questions.
Which is odd, as we previously noted, Sweden is the world’s 12th largest arms exporter — quite an achievement for a country of just nine million people.
To put it as mildly as I can, the Swedish establishment has gone wild. Thirty chief executives signed a letter saying that breaking the arms trade agreement ‘would jeopardise Sweden’s reputation as a trade and co-operation partner’.
No less a figure than His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf himself hauled Wallström in at the weekend to tell her that he wanted a compromise. Saudi Arabia has successfully turned criticism of its brutal version of Islam into an attack on all Muslims, regardless of whether they are Wahhabis or not, and Wallström and her colleagues are clearly unnerved by accusations of Islamophobia.
But as The Gatestone Institute notes [7], it seems that pretty much everything is going wrong for Sweden's Foreign Minister these days.
Margot Wallström, of the Social Democratic Party, ascended with much fanfare to the post of Foreign Minister in the fall of 2014. She had introduced a completely new concept: a feminist foreign policy. In the Statement of Foreign Policy of 2015, she asserted that "A feminist foreign policy is now being formulated, the purpose of which is to combat discrimination against women, improve conditions for women and contribute to peace and development."
One year later, we now know the outcome: "Feminist foreign policy" is not so much about protecting women's interests, as it is about fawning over the Arab states and the Palestinians -- and constantly attacking Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East.
A few days after Wallström's scandalous post-Paris interview, the linguist Susanne Sznajderman-Rytz posted on her Facebook page:
"'The Jews are campaigning against me.' That was the reply I got from Margot Wallström, when I ran into her by coincidence the day after the Paris attacks, and told her that many of my Jewish friends were really offended by what she told [SVT anchorman] Claes Elfsberg earlier that morning."
Again, Wallström was forced to explain herself. Her Press Secretary claimed [8] outright that Sznajderman-Rytz had made the whole thing up. But Sznajderman-Rytz stuck to her story. She told [9] the alternative media website Nyheter Idag,
"Let me tell you what I do in my everyday working life. She did not know this, but I educate people in communication and writing. Professionally, I work with understanding what people are saying, how they act and everything that happened in that moment is quoted correctly."
In early December, two members of Parliament, Mathias Sundin of the Liberals and Kent Ekeroth of the Sweden Democrats, had demanded that Wallström explain why she had not condemned the rampant Palestinian knife attacks against civilian Israelis with so much as a syllable. The ensuing debate ended with Wallström saying that she trusts Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas implicitly, because he told her he wants peace, and she believes him. She also leveled new accusations against Israel, which, according to Wallström, is engaged in "extrajudicial executions."
Mathias Sundin wrote [10] in an opinion piece in Aftonbladet:
"When I pointed out that the Israeli police handle the knife attacks according to the same principle that the Swedish police used during the Trollhättan school attack [11], by aiming for the body to stop the assailant quickly, the Foreign Minister shook her head several times. It was in reply to this statement that Wallström said that the response must not be extrajudicial executions.
"Even though it is obvious what she actually means, she and the government refuse to apologize. Their defense tactic -- the one about it being a misunderstanding -- does not include an apology even for being unclear, but rather, a new attack against Israel. Unfortunately, this is completely in line with the government's one-sided policy. ... It is a shame for Sweden to have a Foreign Minister who creates a diplomatic crisis as soon as she opens her mouth, and who so one-sidedly allies herself with anti-democratic forces against Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East."
 Sweden's Foreign Minister Margot Wallström (right) called the Israel Police's actions in stopping deadly stabbing attacks "extrajudicial executions," even after it was pointed out to her that "Israeli police handle the knife attacks according to the same principle that the Swedish police used..." |
Kent Ekeroth wondered [12] how Wallström views President Abbas and his Fatah party. The Foreign Minister replied:
"The government supports moderate forces in Palestine, the government supports the Palestinian Authority and others who recognize Israel's right to exist and seek a diplomatic solution to the conflict, enabling Israel and Palestine to live side by side with peace and security. I find that President Abbas has made it his life's goal to replace the way of violence with a diplomatic struggle to end the Israeli occupation of Palestine. I also note that President Abbas, apart from his denunciation of terrorism, has also spoken against cries for violent resistance against the Israeli occupying force."
Ekeroth retorted:
"Wallström portrays Abbas as a pacifist who has denounced terrorism. He might condemn terrorism when it is French citizens who are killed, but when it is Israelis being killed there are no problems. He has not condemned a single one of the murders of 20 Israelis during the last few months. On the contrary, many of the Palestinian Authority and Fatah leaders have glorified the killers. A member of the Fatah Central Council told Palestinian TV in October that he congratulates all those who have carried out the attacks. He is proud of them, and thought that knife attacks should be taught in Palestinian schools.
Your own 'golden boy' Mahmoud Abbas said in September, regarding the violence against Israelis, that 'We bless every drop of blood spilled in Jerusalem', and we know that every Palestinian assassin apprehended by Israel is rewarded by the Palestinian Authority. So how can Wallström claim that he denounces terrorism, when he is actually rewarding it with money from the Swedish taxpayers?
"Wallström is either ignorant about Abbas' celebrations of and rewards to murderers, or she is lying. Neither alternative is very flattering. I would therefore like to ask two questions: Is Wallström aware of the praising of terrorism? Is Wallström aware of the rewards paid to terrorists? Yes or no?"
Wallström replied that she certainly condemns "all acts of violence, regardless if they are carried out by Palestinians or Israelis, and I have emphasized the importance of bringing those responsible to justice and not engaging in extrajudicial executions."
Wallström further thought that one should not attempt to interpret or translate what Abbas says, because there are so many different ways to do this. "I do not think we should do that, the important thing is that we condemn violence and I myself have heard Abbas do this, so I know he renounces violence."
Ekeroth shot back: "One does not reward terrorists with recognition, and one does not pay them using Swedish taxpayers' money." He then proceeded to show a number of printouts of Fatah's official Facebook page, where murdered Israelis are displayed and the killings celebrated. "You need to understand that Abbas speaks two languages -- one to gullible [Western] politicians, where he says he wants peace, and another to Palestinians, where he promotes, glorifies and rewards terror. Wallström needs to stop listening to what Abbas tells her and instead start listening to what he tells his own people."
On January 11, 2016, did it again. She said in parliament that she wants "a thorough and credible investigation into whether Israel has used extrajudicial killings during the last months of violence, knife attacks and clashes between Israelis and Palestinians."
The statement provoked strong a reaction in Israel. Its foreign ministry, in an unusually strongly-worded statement, condemned Wallström [13], saying her "irresponsible and delirious statements are giving support to terrorism and encouraging violence." Technology and Space Minister Ofir Akunis went farther and suggested that, instead, there should be an investigation on "how a woman who so bluntly hates Israel was elected, and still holds the role of foreign minister of Sweden."
