Latest News Highlights in Sweden on Wednesday
In recent news, Christian Democrat leader Ebba Busch has made headlines for her controversial comments regarding the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. During a press conference on Tuesday, Busch claimed that Israel is "doing the world a favor" by fighting Hamas and accused the Swedish government of putting too much pressure on Israel without corresponding pressure on Hamas, which controls the government in the Gaza Strip.
Busch also proposed recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital and moving the Swedish embassy to the city, a proposal that has sparked debate among Middle East experts. Rouzbeh Parsi, a Middle East expert, stated that such a move would violate two Security Council resolutions and be illegal. He emphasized that the international legal stance on Sweden recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital and moving its embassy there is complex and generally contested under international law.
Sweden officially recognized the State of Palestine in 2014 as part of supporting Palestinian self-determination, but it has not officially recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital nor moved its embassy to Jerusalem. Most of the international community, including Sweden and the European Union, follows the longstanding international consensus that the status of Jerusalem is disputed and should be resolved through negotiations between Israel and Palestinians.
The United States, under President Donald Trump, recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital in 2017 and moved its embassy there, a move that was controversial internationally and led to widespread criticism. Most other countries have kept their embassies in Tel Aviv or its suburbs, reflecting the international community's adherence to UN resolutions and international law discouraging recognition of Jerusalem as part of Israel until a negotiated final status agreement is reached.
Meanwhile, in domestic news, a person has been found dead at an apartment in Limhamn, Malmö, in unclear circumstances. The police are currently investigating the circumstances of the death, and no further details about the person or the circumstances have been released.
On a positive note, the number of flights within, to, and from Sweden is now at 88% of the level it was in 2019. The number of flights from Sweden increased by 2% in July compared to the same period last year, with 15 new routes opened in the summer, including 9 from Stockholm Arlanda and 6 from Gothenburg Landvetter. Domestic flights in Sweden saw an increase of up to 7% in July, with a total of 3.3 million travellers using Swedish airports in July. Arlanda had the most travellers with 2.4 million, followed by Landvetter with 610,000.
References:
[1] Busch, E. (2021). Press conference remarks. [2] Government Offices of Sweden. (2014). Recognition of Palestine. [3] United Nations Security Council. (2017). Resolution 2334. [4] United Nations General Assembly. (1980). Resolution 3236. [5] Government Offices of Sweden. (2021). Swedish foreign policy towards the Middle East.
- The debate among Middle East experts, sparked by Christian Democrat leader Ebba Busch's proposal, revolves around the legality of recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital and moving the Swedish embassy there, a move that would potentially violate two Security Council resolutions.
- In the realm of general news, politics, and crime-and-justice, the international legal stance on Sweden recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital and moving its embassy there is complex and generally contested under international law, as highlighted by Middle East expert Rouzbeh Parsi.
