{"id":60368,"date":"2018-03-23T17:00:29","date_gmt":"2018-03-23T15:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=60368"},"modified":"2018-03-22T16:32:03","modified_gmt":"2018-03-22T14:32:03","slug":"29-05-26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=60368","title":{"rendered":"Swedish FM seems to support PA\u2019s payments to terrorists\u2019 families"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>Swedish FM seems to support PA\u2019s payments to terrorists\u2019 families<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

RAPHAEL AHREN<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Are people supposed to starve to death?’ Margot Wallstr\u00f6m asks, but clarifies Stockholm doesn’t fund Palestinian prisoners<\/strong><\/p>\n

Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom in Hanoi, Vietnam, November 23, 2017. (AP Photo\/Tran Van Minh)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstr\u00f6m appeared to display sympathy for the Palestinian Authority\u2019s policy of paying \u201csalaries\u201d to the families of Palestinian terrorists.<\/span><\/p>\n

In an interview with a local Jewish journal published this week, Wallstr\u00f6m was asked about her opinion of the fact that Ramallah provides financial aid to the families of Palestinians who are in prison for attacking Israelis.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not quite sure what you\u2019re referring to in this case, but we have to review how we spend our money. But are people supposed to starve to death or what? What are these families supposed to do if they don\u2019t receive money?\u201d she replied, according to a translation of the interview by a Swedish-born journalist.<\/span><\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Wallstr\u00f6m later told the local journal, Judisk Kr\u00f6nika, that Stockholm\u2019s financial aid to the Palestinian Authority is not being used to pay for needy families. According to Swedish and European Union directives, no aid money is allowed to be used to fund Palestinians in Israeli prisons, the spokesperson said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Israeli officials have long condemned what they call the PA\u2019s \u201cpay-to-slay\u201d policy.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cRaise your hands high if you agree with me that President Abbas should stop paying terrorists who murder Jews,\u201d Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier this month during a speech at an AIPAC conference in Washington.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe pays about $350 million a year to terrorists and their families, each year. That\u2019s about a little less than 10% of the total Palestinian budget. That\u2019s an incredible number,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference in Washington, DC, on March 6, 2018. (AFP PHOTO \/ Nicholas Kamm)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

A Washington Post report found that Netanyahu\u2019s claim is somewhat exaggerated, arguing that the actual amount the PA pays to terrorists\u2019 families may be up to two-thirds smaller. The paper did confirm, however, that Ramallah pays \u201csalaries\u201d to suicide bombers and other terrorists.<\/span><\/p>\n

In her interview, Wallstr\u00f6m rejected claims that she is quick to censure Israel but rarely calls out the PA, saying she constantly puts pressure on her interlocutors in Ramallah.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAlways when we meet we talk about the fact that they need a younger leadership, that they need female representation and that they need to hold elections and start a reconciliation and work on issues that can lead to peace negotiations; to make the Palestinian Authority fully state-worthy,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Wallstr\u00f6m also defended herself against accusations of anti-Semitism, saying her positions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which have led to repeated clashes with Israeli officials, emanate solely from the desire to see both sides reach a political agreement.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI want to point out that for me it was never about choosing a side in the conflict but rather to strive for a two-state solution; one has to choose peace,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEverything I have done proves that I am not an anti-Semite,\u201d she continued. \u201cMy driving force ever since I learned about the Holocaust has been to work for a society where that can never happen again.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Asked if questioning Israel\u2019s right to exist as a Jewish state can be considered anti-Semitism, she replied: \u201cI\u2019m not a theologian and I can\u2019t answer that. But if I am accused of being an anti-Semite for promoting a two-state solution I think that hurts the debate. I have always argued for Israel\u2019s right to exist within safe borders.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Wallstr\u00f6m also revealed that she first came to Israel in the 1970s, visiting Masada and some kibbutzim.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEverything having to do with Israel-Palestine is emotional, and I\u2019m not afraid of that, but it has to be constructive,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

Zawarto\u015b\u0107 publikowanych artyku\u0142\u00f3w i materia\u0142\u00f3w nie reprezentuje pogl\u0105d\u00f3w ani opinii Reunion’68,<\/em>
\nani te\u017c webmastera Blogu Reunion’68, chyba ze jest to wyra\u017anie zaznaczone.
\nTwoje uwagi, linki, w\u0142asne artyku\u0142y lub wiadomo\u015bci prze\u015blij na adres:
\n<\/em>webmaster@reunion68.com<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Swedish FM seems to support PA\u2019s payments to terrorists\u2019 families RAPHAEL AHREN Are people supposed to starve to death?’ Margot Wallstr\u00f6m asks, but clarifies Stockholm doesn’t fund Palestinian prisoners Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom in Hanoi, Vietnam, November 23, 2017. (AP Photo\/Tran Van Minh) Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstr\u00f6m appeared to display sympathy for the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[26,24],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60368"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=60368"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60368\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60374,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60368\/revisions\/60374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=60368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=60368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=60368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}