Sweden calls for greater EU pressure on Israel to stop genocide in Gaza

Sweden on Tuesday called on its EU partners to increase pressure on Tel Aviv after a UN commission of inquiry concluded that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

“We are extremely worried about the situation in Gaza, and we need to put more pressure on the Israeli government,” Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said during a joint press conference with her German counterpart in Berlin.

When asked about the landmark report of the UN independent international commission, which concluded that Israeli authorities and security forces committed genocide in Gaza, Stenergard said these findings aligned with what various experts had earlier stated.

“We do not make any statements on whether it’s genocide or not until an international court has formally decided on it. But we do have an obligation to stop and prevent genocide from happening,” she told reporters.

“And that's why Sweden is one of the biggest providers of humanitarian aid to Gaza. And that's why we want to put more pressure on the Israeli government, for instance, by stopping the trade part of the EU association agreement or also putting sanctions on extremist ministers in the Israeli government,” Stenergard added.