The government announced last week that it requires the EU to freeze the trade agreement with Israel to increase pressure on the country to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. The decision has been criticized by representatives of the Christian Democrats.
I share parts of the criticism and think that there is reason for it, says KD leader Ebba Busch to TT.
Ebba Busch, whose party is part of the government, thinks that the government's decision last week was presented in an "unbalanced way" with a "one-sided focus" on Israel.
It was not clear enough about the responsibility that Hamas has. It is Hamas that bears the responsibility for starting this war, for not ending it and for not releasing the hostages, she says.
Can be reconsidered
Do you mean that it was the government that presented the decision in an unbalanced way?
I mean that it was an unbalanced presentation of what is the government's common stance and then I try to balance it out.
We as a government also have a responsibility to present more measures for how we put pressure on Hamas, says Ebba Busch.
She says that the Christian Democrats support a peaceful two-state solution but want to see increased pressure on Hamas.
We will continue to request documentation for the claim that it is Israel that is holding back aid.
– If Israel does more or if it turns out that there is no reason to believe that Israel bears a great responsibility for the aid not getting through, there is no reason to maintain the government's position, she says.
In a post on Facebook, she also lists several points for how the Christian Democrats want to increase pressure on Hamas. "Sweden should never sign statements in, for example, the EU and the UN that do not clearly point out Hamas as fully responsible for the war and suffering", she writes.
Move embassy
She also raises that the Christian Democrats want Sweden to move its embassy to Jerusalem, a policy that the party has driven before: "Show that Hamas does not win any victories through its terrorism by moving Sweden's embassy to Jerusalem and recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital", Busch writes.
Furthermore, she wants, among other things, that Sweden takes the initiative in the EU to evaluate the cooperation agreement with the Palestinian Authority, and extends the entry ban and economic sanctions in the EU to all those who have to do with Hamas, Hezbollah and other terrorist groups that target Israel.
