Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard announced on Tuesday that her country will move within the European Union to push for sanctions against Israeli occupation government ministers over ongoing crimes against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip.
“As long as we do not see a clear improvement in the situation of civilians in Gaza, we need to escalate our rhetoric, which is why Sweden will push for the European Union to impose sanctions on specific Israeli ministers,” Stenergard said in an official statement.
She added that the identities of the targeted officials would be discussed within the European Union, noting that the move comes amid growing European concern over “Israeli behavior toward civilians and the lack of commitment to international humanitarian law.”
This statement comes at a time of growing international criticism of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, which since October 7, 2023, has led to the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians, most of them children and women, amid accusations that the occupying entity has committed war crimes and crimes against humanity.
This Swedish move represents a significant development in the European position, as personal sanctions have never been proposed against senior Israeli officials in the context of the aggression on Gaza. This indicates growing pressure within the European Union to reconsider relations with Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
