Latest news with #MariaMalmerStenergard
Saba Yemen
3 days ago
- Politics
- Saba Yemen
Sweden: Israel's decision to reoccupy Gaza violates International Law
Stockholm – SABA: Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard stated on Friday that the Israeli government's decision to escalate attacks on the Gaza Strip violates international law, expressing concern over the move aimed at fully occupying the enclave. In a press statement criticizing the Israeli entity's decision to reoccupy Gaza, Stenergard emphasized that attempts to annex, alter, or shrink Gaza's territory contravene international law. - "I am deeply concerned by the Israeli government's decision. While we urgently need a ceasefire, this move takes us in the exact opposite direction." - "Israel's decision to escalate attacks on Gaza breaches international law. We are alarmed by this development." With American and European backing, the Israeli enemy army has continued its genocidal crimes in Gaza since October 7, 2023, resulting in: - 61,258 Palestinian civilians martyred (mostly children and women) - 152,045+ injured (as of Thursday) - Thousands still trapped under rubble, inaccessible to rescue teams Whatsapp Telegram Email Print
Local Sweden
7 days ago
- Politics
- Local Sweden
Politics in Sweden: Swedish right divided over relations with Israel
Sweden's right-wing coalition last week urged the EU to suspend trade ties with Israel as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepened, but the government's toughening stance on Tel Aviv has not gone down well with its parliamentary backers, the far-right Sweden Democrats. Advertisement Over the past two years Sweden's government has mostly remained cautiously supportive of Israel, reiterating the country's right to defend itself after the terror attacks of October 2023. But speaking at the government's annual 'summer fika' last week, Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard revealed that the government had now decided to align itself with a growing list of EU countries calling for a freeze on trade with Israel. This marked a swift turnaround: just two weeks earlier the foreign minister indicated that Sweden wasn't going to take a position on trade with Israel before the EU Commission had put forward concrete proposals on any changes to the EU-Israel Association Agreement. But fresh reports of increasingly dire conditions in Gaza, including images of starving and dying children, prompted a rethink. 'Using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare constitutes a war crime,' Malmer Stenergard told reporters. READ ALSO: How Israel's invasion of Gaza became Swedish party politics again While all three parties in the governing coalition backed the move, the issue is a sensitive one for Sweden's right-wing parties, which all have traditions of supporting Israel. Not surprisingly then, there were some dissenting voices. For instance, the combative Christian Democrat MEP Alice Teodorescu Måwe said the government was playing into the hands of Hamas and the Islamist extremist movement's plan to discredit and eventually destroy Israel. This view was shared by Carl Johan Sonesson, a high-profile Moderate from Skåne, who argued that the EU should spend more time trying to end the war by putting pressure on Hamas to release Israeli hostages. But by far the most column inches have been devoted to criticism of the government by Jimmie Åkesson. Writing on X, the Sweden Democrat leader said: "If we had known that the government would be this wavering and weak on Middle East policy we would of course have also demanded foreign policy guarantees in the Tidö Agreement." But while Åkesson might come across as agitated, this difference of opinion is arguably no bad thing for the far-right party as it seeks to position itself ahead of the 2026 election. The fact that foreign policy isn't included in the agreement underpinning his party's collaboration with the government gives Åkesson relatively free rein to go it alone without jeopardising an arrangement that has run fairly smoothly so far. It also offers him a chance to convince core voters that the Sweden Democrats have not become part of an establishment they profess to despise. Advertisement Prime Minister uses ChatGPT to test new ideas Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson revealed in a weekend interview with Dagens Industri that he often uses open AI services like ChatGPT as a testing ground for new ideas. Kristersson said he likes to present an idea as a way of getting a second opinion by asking for further thoughts and counterarguments. This has become a snackis, or talking point, in recent days, as opinion shapers weigh in on whether it's a good idea for the Prime Minister to be using AI in this way. In the culture pages of Dagens Nyheter, Kristofer Ahlström questions the wisdom of using Chat GPT, a service that he says is widely considered a 'sycophant and bootlicker in its desire to please'. Others however have leapt to the PM's defence, including Elias Rosell in the same newspaper: 'It's akin to someone in 2000 criticising a head of government for occasionally using the then new internet tool Google to search for information instead of dusting off a reference book.' READ ALSO: Can Kristersson convince Swedish voters to give him a second term?
Euractiv
31-07-2025
- Politics
- Euractiv
Sweden urges EU to freeze trade deal with Israel over Gaza aid blockade
The Swedish government is calling on the EU to freeze its trade deal with Israel in an effort to pressure the country into allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza. In doing so, Stockholm has joined Ireland, Spain, Slovenia, the Netherlands and Luxembourg in calling for the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, due to Israel's human rights violations in Gaza. 'Using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare constitutes a war crime,' said Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard during a press briefing on Wednesday. 'We now propose that the EU suspends the trade section of the agreement as soon as possible,' Stenergard said. 'We'll be very clear with the Commission on this matter.' The EU-Israel Association Agreement, updated on 10 July, grants Israel preferential access to the EU market in exchange for commitments to human rights and humanitarian access – obligations that Stockholm says Israel has failed to uphold. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson echoed the stance on X, writing: 'The economic pressure on Israel must increase. The situation in Gaza is appalling, and Israel is not fulfilling its most basic humanitarian commitments.' The Gaza Strip is facing a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, with severe shortages of food, water, and medical supplies. The Swedish government also reiterated its request for the European Commission to consider sanctions against extremist Israeli ministers but insisted that pressure must also be applied on Hamas who "bears heavy responsibility for the suffering in Gaza". "Sweden welcomes the fact that more countries in the Middle East are demanding that Hamas be disarmed and not be allowed to have a place in a future government of Gaza", Kristersson precised. Germany, Hungary and Italy are among the countries that oppose a full suspension of the trade pact. (jp)
The Hindu
12-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Israeli ‘starvation' of Gaza a ‘war crime': Sweden
Israel's refusal to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza and its targeting of aid distribution points is causing civilians to starve which constitutes a war crime, Sweden's Foreign Minister said Thursday (June 12, 2025). In early June, U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk said deadly attacks on civilians around aid distribution sites in the Gaza Strip constituted "a war crime", while several rights groups including Amnesty International have accused Israel of genocide. Israel has vehemently rejected that term. "To use starvation of civilians as a method of war is a war crime. Life-saving humanitarian help must never be politicised or militarised," Maria Malmer Stenergard said at a press conference. "There are strong indications right now that Israel is not living up to its commitments under international humanitarian law," she said. "It is crucial that food, water and medicine swiftly reach the civilian population, many of whom are women and children living under wholly inhumane conditions," she said. Sweden announced in December 2024 it was halting funding to the U.N.'s Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA after Israel banned the organisation, accusing it of providing cover for Hamas militants. Swedish International Development Minister Benjamin Dousa told Thursday's (June 12, 2025) press conference that Stockholm was now channelling aid through other UN organisations, and was "the fifth-biggest donor in the world ... (and) the second-largest donor in the EU to the humanitarian aid response in Gaza". The country's humanitarian aid to Gaza since the start of the war in October 2023 currently amounts to more than 1 billion kronor ($105 million), while funding earmarked for Gaza for 2025 totals 800 million kronor, he said.
Arab News
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Sweden accuses Israel of war crimes over Gaza aid blockade
STOCKHOLM: Israel's refusal to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza and its targeting of aid distribution points is causing civilians to starve, which constitutes a war crime, Sweden's foreign minister said on Thursday. In early June, UN human rights chief Volker Turk said deadly attacks on civilians around aid distribution sites in the Gaza Strip constituted 'a war crime,' while several rights groups, including Amnesty International, have accused Israel of genocide. Israel has vehemently rejected that term. 'To use starvation of civilians as a method of war is a war crime. Lifesaving humanitarian help must never be politicized or militarized,' Maria Malmer Stenergard said at a press conference. 'There are strong indications right now that Israel is not living up to its commitments under international humanitarian law,' she said. 'It is crucial that food, water, and medicine swiftly reach the civilian population, many of whom are women and children living under wholly inhumane conditions,' she said. Sweden announced in December 2024 that it was halting funding to the UN's Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, after Israel banned the organization, accusing it of providing cover for Hamas militants. Swedish International Development Minister Benjamin Dousa told Thursday's press conference that Stockholm was now channeling aid through other UN organizations, and was 'the fifth-biggest donor in the world ... (and) the second-largest donor in the EU to the humanitarian aid response in Gaza.' The country's humanitarian aid to Gaza since the start of the war in October 2023 currently amounts to more than 1 billion kronor ($105 million), while funding earmarked for Gaza for 2025 totals 800 million kronor, he said. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority said Internet and fixed-line communication services were down in Gaza following an attack on the territory's last fiber optic cable. 'All Internet and fixed-line communication services in the Gaza Strip have been cut following the targeting of the last remaining main fiber optic line in Gaza,' the PA's Telecommunications Ministry said in a statement, accusing Israel of attempting to cut Gaza off from the world. 'The southern and central Gaza Strip have now joined Gaza City and the northern part of the Strip in experiencing complete isolation for the second consecutive day,' the ministry said in a statement. It added that its maintenance and repair teams had been unable to safely access the sites where the fiber optic cable was damaged. 'The Israeli occupation continues to prevent technical teams from repairing the cables that were cut yesterday,' it said, adding that Israeli authorities had prevented repairs to other telecommunication lines in Gaza 'for weeks and months.' The Palestinian Red Crescent said the communication lines were 'directly targeted by occupation forces.' It said the Internet outage was hindering its emergency services by impeding communication with first responder teams in the field. 'The emergency operations room is also struggling to coordinate with other organizations to respond to humanitarian cases.' Maysa Monayer, spokeswoman for the Palestinian Communication Ministry, said that 'mobile calls are still available with very limited capacity' in Gaza for the time being. Now in its 21st month, the war in Gaza has caused massive damage to infrastructure across the Palestinian territory, including water mains, power lines and roads.
