Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt harshly criticised Israel – but rejected calls to launch sanctions against the country.

• Henning Mankell: Will Israel drop an atomic bomb?
• Massive anti-Israel protests across Scandinavia

Carl Bildt on Monday harshly criticised Israel for the deadly Gaza aid flotilla attack last week, urging the country to quickly halt its "foolish" blockade policy against the Gaza Strip.

The Gaza blockade "is a foolish policy. It breeds extremism and creates extremists," Bildt said during a debate in the Swedish parliament on how to address the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.

"The unacceptable and counterproductive Israeli policy towards Gaza ... isolates Israel and it humiliates and degrades innocent people," he said.

Nonetheless, he rejected a call from the opposition for Sweden to launch sanctions against Israel and bring home the Swedish military attache in the country.

The centre-left opposition had requested an extraordinary debate in parliament to discuss the deadly attack last Monday by Israeli commandos on an international aid flotilla heading for the Gaza Strip, in which nine Turkish activists were killed.

"If the global community does not act now, international law risks being completely devalued," Left Party member Hans Linde said.

Bildt meanwhile cautioned against allowing the situation to "lead to a general anti-Israel hysteria."

Eleven Swedes, including world-famous crime writer Henning Mankell, took part in last week's aid flotilla and were all briefly taken into Israeli custody.

Last Updated (Monday, 07 June 2010 16:35)

 
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