Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom called to end the violence in Israel, but deliberately did not bother to mention that it is the Palestinians who are responsible for perpetrating it.
Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom raised the ire of Israeli officials in Jerusalem on Wednesday when she tweeted a call to end the violence and the wave of Palestinian terror which has been plaguing Israel in the past weeks, but failed to mention that the violence was being perpetrated by Palestinian terrorists, giving the sense that the onus was on both sides.
“Escalating violence in Jerusalem. Attacks against civilians unacceptable. Bring perpetrators to justice. Leaders must act responsibly,” Wallstrom tweeted ambiguously on Wednesday.
A “diplomatic source in Jerusalem” is quoted by The Jerusalem Post as saying: “It is most regrettable that the Swedish foreign minister is unwilling to state in a clear and unequivocal way that the terrorists are Palestinian, and that the victims are Israeli. We wish that her messages would be much clearer and correspond to the reality of the situation.”
This is not the first time Wallstrom has generated a conflict with Jerusalem. In October 2014, Sweden became the first major European country to recognize the non-existing state of Palestine shortly after the newly elected Stefan Lofven government assumed power.
Sweden was heavily criticized by Israel for that diplomatically reckless move, and Wallstrom subsequently cancelled a scheduled January trip to Israel after Jerusalem made it clear they were not interested in meeting with her.
By: United with Israel Staff