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Israel summons Swedish envoy over foreign minister remarks

Thursday, 14 January 2016 9:53 AM [ Last Update: Thursday, 14 January 2016 9:54 AM ]

Sweden’s Ambassador to Israel Carl Magnus Nesser (Photo by Reuters)

Israel has summoned the Swedish ambassador over Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom’s call for a probe into Tel Aviv's "extrajudicial executions" of Palestinians.

The regime said it had called Swedish Ambassador Carl Magnus Nesser to condemn what it described as “biased and even hostile attitude to Israel.”

On Wednesday, Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely referred to Wallstrom’s remarks as “a mix of blindness and political stupidity,” calling for a halt to official Swedish visits to Israel.

Sweden’s Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom (Photo by Reuters)

Wallstrom called on Tuesday for a probe into the large number of Palestinians being killed by Israeli forces on a daily basis.

“It is vital that there are thorough, credible investigations into these deaths in order to clarify and bring about possible accountability,” she said.

Last month, Wallstrom said Israeli military forces were involved in “extrajudicial executions” and employed disproportionate force in clashes with Palestinian protesters.

She cited as “ostensible” proof the higher number of Palestinian casualties compared to those of Israel.

“Israel’s response involved extrajudicial executions, and was disproportionate, so the number of the dead on the other side is greater than the original death toll by several factors,” she said.

Wallstrom’s remarks outraged Israeli authorities, with the Israeli Foreign Ministry releasing a statement to denounce them.

Makarim Wibisono, the UN’s special rapporteur in charge of investigating human rights complaints in the occupied Palestinian territories

Earlier this month, UN special rapporteur in charge of investigating Palestinian human rights complaints announced his resignation over Israeli obstructions of his attempts to investigate abuses.

Makarim Wibisono, a former Indonesian ambassador to the UN, accused Israel of denying him access to the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Mourners carry the body of a Palestinians killed by Israeli forces, in the West Bank village of Sa’ir, Jan. 9, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

Tensions have been running high in the West Bank since Israel’s imposition in August of restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East al-Quds (Jerusalem). Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in Islam.

The restrictions have enraged Palestinians, who are also angry at increasing violence by Israeli settlers frequently storming the al-Aqsa Mosque. They say the Tel Aviv regime seeks to change the status quo of the compound.

More than 150 Palestinians, including children and women, have lost their lives at the hands of Israeli forces since the beginning of October 2015.

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