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Israel slams Sweden on comments linking Paris attacks to Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Xinhua, November 17, 2015 Adjust font size:

Israel on Monday slammed comments made by the Swedish foreign minister that connected Friday's attacks in Paris to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Israeli foreign minister called the comments by Sweden's Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom "shockingly hostile," as she linked the acts of Paris attackers, who were affiliated with the Islamic State, to the frustration of the Palestinians amid Israel's ongoing occupation.

Wallstrom said on Monday during an interview that radicalized Muslims pose a threat throughout the world, specifically mentioning the frustration of the Palestinians who "have no future, forcing some to resort to violence."

Such comments are "misleading themselves, public opinion and the international community," the Israeli Foreign Ministry said.

Israel also blamed the Swedish minister for her "systematic bias" against Israel, calling her statement "hostile."

Israel has summoned the Swedish ambassador for a meeting to get clarifications over the statement.

The Swedish embassy in Tel Aviv has issued a clarification on Twitter, saying that the minister "did not say the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is connected to the tragic events in Paris," adding that the Scandinavian country "condemns all acts of terrorism."

The interview on Swedish TV referenced the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris, in which more than 130 people were killed and hundreds more injured. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility.

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said "It is the terrorists who are to blame for terrorism, not the territories, not the settlements and not any other thing."

Sweden has been a staunch critic of Israel and its policies regarding the Palestinians. Last year it became the first major Western European country to formally recognize the state of Palestine, to the ire of Israeli officials.

Israel occupied the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, home to approximately five million Palestinians, in the 1967 Mideast War. The Palestinians live without rights or citizenship, and seek to establish a Palestinian state on the lands Israel occupied, amid the two state solution proposal.

The last round of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians ended abruptly in April 2014 without results. The ongoing weeks-long of violence has claimed the lives of 14 Israelis and more than 80 Palestinians. Endit