Response to interpellation 2024/25:714 on the war in Gaza and the government's actions

Statsrådet Benjamin Dousa (M)

Madam Speaker! Kerstin Lundgren has asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs what is preventing the government from pushing for the association agreement with Israel to be paused in order to, in line with the actions against Russia, create a tangible cost for the country's current warfare. She has also asked whether the government is ready to demand that the preferential trade agreement be stopped and join forces with other countries in the EU to achieve results now.

She has further asked whether we are prepared to support the collection of evidence for war crimes and potential crimes against humanity for review by the ICJ in order to ensure that impunity does not prevail for either Hamas or Israel.

She has also asked how much, in addition to the more than 245 million, of the much-discussed 800 million kronor to Gaza and the region has been paid out, and whether the government can be as transparent with the distribution as Sida has been. Furthermore, Kerstin Lundgren asks the following: If the government chokes off the core support to UNRWA with reference to Israel's decision, why is it then not paid out to the operations in Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria?

Finally, she asks: Does the Minister and the Government consider UNRWA to be a part of the long-standing conflict since 1949, with a mandate for all Palestinian refugees, until a sustainable peace solution has also found a common solution on the right of return? The questions have been handed over to me to answer.

The situation in Gaza is unsustainable. The war's unthinkable consequences for the civilian population must come to an end and a ceasefire must be achieved.

The demands for respect for international humanitarian law have been, and continue to be, one of the government's most important key messages. Many of us are now sharpening the tone further and argue that Israel must do more to protect the civilian population. We have repeatedly, in our conversations with Israeli government representatives, demanded unimpeded humanitarian access and that distribution is ensured in accordance with humanitarian principles.

We now emphasize this and welcome that the review of the Israeli government's compliance with the part of the association agreement concerning respect for human rights shall be presented, and we want to see proposals for measures. The government also continues to demand that all remaining hostages be released – immediately and unconditionally. It is actually today that the Commission's evaluation is to be presented in the FAC.

The EU has a clear differentiation policy through the association agreement, which means that the EU distinguishes between Israel and the occupied territories. Proposals now exist to review whether the EU makes a sufficient distinction between Israeli and Palestinian areas in its trade with Israel to live up to the International Court of Justice's opinion or if further measures need to be taken. Sweden supports such a review.

It is becoming increasingly clear that Israel's warfare in Gaza is difficult to reconcile with international law. It is important that violations of international law and possible war crimes are investigated and that accountability is demanded. It is good that both the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice have ongoing investigations into the situation in Palestine. Sweden stands behind the courts' independence and integrity.

The government has clearly shown its strong commitment to continued humanitarian support for the hard-hit civilian population in Gaza. In December, the government decided to allocate 800 million kronor to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the region, of which 330 million kronor have been distributed so far. This includes 300 million kronor for the response in Gaza and 30 million kronor that have been allocated to Unicef's work in meeting the needs of Palestinian refugee children in Jordan.

Since the beginning of the war, Sweden has contributed over 1 billion kronor to meet the acute and enormous needs of the civilian population in Gaza. As recently as the beginning of June, the government announced an additional support of 10 million kronor to Save the Children's activities in Gaza.

Sweden has also previously provided extensive humanitarian support to countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon. The Swedish support there amounted in total to nearly half a billion kronor during 2024. Furthermore, Sweden continues to be one of the largest donors of flexible core funding to several key actors in the region, such as UNHCR, Unicef, and the international Red Cross movement, which among other things work to strengthen access to education and healthcare for the most vulnerable. At the same time, Sweden continues to provide long-term support to the region through development cooperation, for example within the health and medical care sector.

The government remains firm in its criticism of the laws regarding UNRWA that came into force in Israel in January. Given the overall picture and the uncertainties that constantly characterize UNRWA's operations, we have chosen to channel the significantly increased support to Gaza and the region through other actors.

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Kerstin Lundgren (C)

Madam Speaker! Thank you to the Minister for the answer! I had actually hoped to debate the answer with the Minister for Foreign Affairs because it is more of a foreign policy perspective on my questions than a direct aid perspective.

We are undoubtedly many who have unequivocally condemned the terrorist organization Hamas and the brutal attack it carried out on October 7, 2023. We have demanded the immediate release of the hostages, and we have been clear that Israel has a self-evident right to defend itself against terror with respect for international law.

In Gaza, with an area equivalent to 25 percent of Öland, approximately 2.2 million Palestinians live. 1.9 million of them have been displaced not just once, but several times during this period. There are reports that up to 640,000 people have been displaced again since the beginning of March, when the ceasefire was broken and the humanitarian flow to Gaza was stopped.

Hospitals, schools, tent camps – everything is being bombed. I have not experienced any part of Gaza that is being withheld from being bombed and is not allowed to be bombed, and I am curious to hear if the minister has experienced or heard that. This far, it seems as if everything is possible.

Since the beginning of March, when the humanitarian aid was choked off, we have been able to see that food has become a weapon in the war. First, we have seen the Palestinians starving. We have seen children who are extremely badly affected and children who are dying of starvation.

Now, the Israeli-American organization GHF has stepped in and provided some support, but it has occurred in a way that has been both humiliating and dangerous for the Palestinians who have sought refuge there in search of something that allows the family to survive. In the last week alone, despite reports of the war with Iran, we have been able to follow how 40, 50, 70, 14 – different figures have been reported – Palestinians have been killed at GHF positions. It is, of course, completely unacceptable. They have become a trap. They are located in a military area, and if one does not behave or move while crawling, one is a risk and is shot. It is as far from humanitarian principles as one can get.

We have also heard, and it has been confirmed by Prime Minister Netanyahu, that Israel is distributing weapons to clans in Gaza. To me, it sounds like a possible beginning of a new terror structure. We have seen that there have been criminal clans that have taken the humanitarian aid that has come in. Now they are being equipped with weapons and can become a new force in a new terror structure in Gaza. What Netanyahu hopes is that they can stand against Hamas.

I note, however, that the Minister does not answer questions. What does the Minister say about the preferential trade agreement?

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Olle Thorell (S)

Madam Speaker! A humanitarian collapse is occurring in Gaza right now. Over 1 million children are at risk of starvation. Children are dying – now, today, in 2025 – of starvation, completely unnecessarily, in Gaza, a small strip of land roughly the same size as my home municipality Surahammar with 2 million people packed into a pure hell. There are children there who have lost their parents, their schools, their playmates, and their hope for life. Already half a year ago, it was reported that half of all children in Gaza did not want to live anymore.

In this situation, we have a responsibility as fellow human beings and as a nation in the world that believes in human rights, in every person's unique right to life and health, and in children's rights. We have an obligation to do everything we can to ensure that the international law violations currently occurring in Gaza are stopped. There is no doubt that international law violations are occurring. There is no doubt that these are war crimes. There is a great risk that it is a genocide we are witnessing from here in safe Sweden.

What is the Swedish government doing then? It is good that one increases the humanitarian aid to 800 million – great! But it is completely incomprehensible that one withdraws the support to UNRWA. Together with the USA and Donald Trump, Sweden is the only former significant donor that has completely stopped the support to UNRWA. I think that is shameful.

UNRWA is the only organization – as the other organizations on site also say – that has the infrastructure and the capabilities to deliver the aid. Now they cannot do it.

Of course, the government is free to decide on Swedish aid. But there is also something called independent agencies, expert agencies, and avoiding ministerial rule.

Since Sweden removed the core support, the major support, to UNRWA, the humanitarian department at Sida, experts who follow the situation daily, have worked out a proposal that Sweden should contribute 30 million kronor to an emergency appeal that would best be channeled via UNRWA. They describe this and send it to the government but find out via SMS from the Director-General and the Minister's State Secretary Janse that it is no idea to even ask about this. Why do you have to rewrite it? Leave no traces! Make sure that not even such a question arises, because it is no idea!

It was about 30 million kronor to be able to alleviate the distress for the children in Gaza to the slightest extent. What is the problem, Benjamin Dousa? What is the problem with the experts at Sida wanting to send a mere 30 million kronor to UNRWA? Why are you stopping it from a political standpoint?

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Statsrådet Benjamin Dousa (M)

Madam Speaker! I fully and completely share Kerstin Lundgren's and Olle Thorell's commitment to the civilian population in Gaza. Gaza is currently one of the worst places on the entire globe. It is exactly as Member of Parliament Thorell says: The children are starving completely unnecessarily. There are enormous stocks in Jordan and Egypt that stand ready to be delivered to Gaza's much-needed civilian population, but the support is not being let in by Israel.

From the government's side, we are now doing a number of things. As I was just mentioning, we are driving this very clearly in all our bilateral contacts directly with Israeli government representatives. We have done that for many months. The sanctions tool lies at the European level, and Sweden is one of the few European countries that wants to go that far, just as the United Kingdom has done, that we want to introduce sanctions against extreme Israeli ministers. As the members of Parliament know, the sanctions tool is a tool that requires full consensus in the EU, but we are working intensively so that we can get as much support as is possible.

The trade agreement itself has been reviewed, and the conclusions will be presented during the day. Sweden and the government have also stood behind that review.

The aid that we control entirely ourselves, we have doubled from the previous 400 million kronor to UNRWA to 800 million kronor.

I have in many contexts, including for the Riksdag but also in certainly a hundred interviews, accounted for why we have made the decisions we have made linked to UNRWA. It is partly about that it is primarily the World Food Programme, Unicef and others who actually get in the all-too-few trucks that come in. The trucks that are let in today do not come via UNRWA but via others.

The second leg of the decision is based on the fact that UNRWA employees have, decade after decade, been shown to have held or to have held leading positions in Hamas. This government will never tolerate the risk that our tax money ends up in the pockets of terrorists.

Regarding the question of GHF, I also view this American-Israeli solution with great concern – partly because it violates international humanitarian principles, and partly because it, just as Member Lundgren pointed out, is currently leading to total logistical chaos in Gaza. It is dangerous for the people of Gaza that this solution has been moved forward.

In light of what we are now seeing, it is, as said, very difficult to see that Israel is living up to its obligations under international humanitarian law. That no aid was let into Gaza for over two months is completely unacceptable.

We have expressed support for the review of Israel's compliance with Article 2 of the EU's association agreement with Israel and conveyed that we want to see both conclusions and proposals for measures. The issue is, as mentioned, being discussed at the EU's foreign ministers' meeting today. We will have to see exactly what the conclusions will be.

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Kerstin Lundgren (C)

Madam Speaker! It is possible that the Minister for Development Cooperation cannot answer the questions, and therefore the Minister for Development Cooperation does not answer.

I asked: What is it that prevents the Foreign Minister, or the government, from pushing for the association agreement with Israel to be paused? Similar to what we have seen when we act against Russia, clarity is required for the message to reach; that there will be a cost if one does not act in accordance with international law and international law.

Here the government, in the form of the Minister for Development Cooperation, says that if one is to pause the association agreement, full consensus is required. That is the case. But, Madam Speaker, I asked about the preferential trade agreement, the part of the trade agreement that does not require consensus. It is sufficient that decisions can be made according to special rules for 15 states, share of population, and so on.

But this requires that someone drives the issues. Why does the government not drive the issues? When one heard the minister's answer, it seemed that one wanted to see proposals for measures. But why does one not push for proposals for measures? Must it be others who go first for the government to act?

We are clear that war crimes are occurring in Ukraine, and to ensure that impunity does not prevail, we have actively helped to collect evidence of war crimes so that they can later be subject to a legal process.

Can this happen with Swedish support? I get no answer.

I have also demanded reasons. It is one thing that the minister says that the government has criticized that UNRWA has been prevented by the Israeli government's decision. That is one thing, but UNRWA has operations in Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. There, the governments have not stopped the support, so why is no payment being made? There have been no signals of Hamas links there. Furthermore, both the UN and the Raoul Wallenberg Institute have examined this and found that it has not been a question of more than the nine who were specifically dismissed.

There is one more question that I have not received an answer to, namely whether the government considers that UNRWA is a part of the long-standing conflict since 1949, with a mandate for all Palestinian refugees until a sustainable solution can be achieved. That is UNRWA's mandate. If the government considers that it is part of the two-state solution that the government wants to see, just as we do, why is it being undermined? This is about something that we highlight in other contexts, namely the right of return. The right for a refugee to return is something that the government promotes as an important issue in other contexts. It is of course not the case that everyone will return, but it is part of the solution to a conflict that has been ongoing for so long. Does the government consider that UNRWA is part of the solution, and why is UNRWA being strangled and stopped?

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Olle Thorell (S)

Madam Speaker! Minister for Foreign Affairs Benjamin Dousa does not speak plainly when he responds to my criticism. He claims, first and foremost, that it is not the idea to provide any support via UNRWA because they do not reach out with the aid anyway. That is not true. Your own expert agency describes that UNRWA, despite the Israeli laws, is an indispensable part of the infrastructure to reach out with support and aid to the desperate population in Gaza. What the minister says is not true.

What the second minister says is almost even worse. He claims that UNRWA is a Hamas-infiltrated organization that is only harmful and a dangerous partner. That is disinformation. EU's foreign representative Kaja Kallas has warned against spreading disinformation about what UNRWA is. UNRWA is a UN agency that plays an immensely important role in helping those in distress in Gaza and in the region. Kaja Kallas warns against disinformation, but Sweden's Minister for Development Cooperation stands gladly in the Riksdag's speaker's podium and spreads this disinformation.

It is clear that among the 30,000 employees, there have been people who have had links to Hamas, but it has been investigated thoroughly. They have been fired, and UNRWA is a reliable partner. Everyone says so except Benjamin Dousa. That is not okay in my book.

I mean that Sweden must do everything it can to prevent the crimes against international law that are occurring in Gaza, and this government is not doing that. It is shameful. Resume the core support to UNRWA, help those suffering in Gaza, and ensure that you do everything you can to prevent crimes against international law.

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Statsrådet Benjamin Dousa (M)

Madam Speaker! We are doing everything we can so that more people in Gaza can have access to the most basic humanitarian needs, that is to say more medicines, more food, more water, more fuel, more cots, more tents and more schoolbooks for the children. We are doing everything we can.

We have doubled the support to Gaza and the region. Right now, it is only one other EU country in the entire union that, in this year's budget, has paid out more than what the Swedish government has done. If one looks at last year's support, it is only four countries that had more extensive support to Gaza and the region than what the Swedish government had. This is in absolute terms, not per capita or as a share of the population.

Let us look at the sanctions against extreme Israeli ministers. The sanction tool, as has been said before, requires full consensus. But today, Sweden is one of the few countries that wants to use the tool against the most extreme ministers. I am happy to cooperate with both Centerpartiet and Socialdemokraterna to convince more countries to join the Swedish position.

Regarding UNRWA, I have explained several times that UNRWA is not allowed to receive any trucks as it appears today. We have criticized Israel for the decisions they have made. We have also received criticism from Israel for having criticized the Israeli government and the Knesset for having made these decisions.

We channel the support through other UN bodies, serious, large and professional UN bodies, for example Unicef and World Food Programme, which actually get trucks in while we stand here and debate.

The EU's and thus Sweden's agreement with Israel in the trade area is in the association agreement from 1995. The agreement is not only a trade agreement, but it constitutes the legal basis for the EU's cooperation with Israel and also covers areas such as political dialogue as well as economic, social and legal issues. In the agreement it is stated very clearly that it shall be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles.

Just as has been said earlier in the debate, Sweden has been one of the few countries that has stood behind the commission to carry out the review. The review is to be completed and presented during the day. It is very good that the commission has listened to Sweden and several other countries, and then we take it from there.

The government has very extensive support for the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. In several of the regions, for example the West Bank, we also have very extensive development aid which is now being redirected to focus more on supporting democratic principles, building up institutions and ensuring that the West Bank and Palestine can actually function.

In the short term, Gaza is very much about getting in as many trucks and as much support as possible. In the long term, we want a legitimate reformed Palestinian authority to help rebuild Gaza. If that journey is free of Hamas, Sweden and the government would like to be involved and provide support. But that requires the Palestinian authority to be reformed, and that is why we, in economic terms and with experts, support the Palestinian authority to fulfill the mission, first and foremost in the West Bank and in the future also in Gaza.

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Kerstin Lundgren (C)

Madam Speaker! Thank you, Minister, for the attempt at an answer! The Minister is indeed consistently avoiding answering. Perhaps it is because my fellow debater focuses solely on UNRWA.

UNRWA was Folke Bernadotte's creation to try to secure and take care of the Palestinian population after the war and after the formation of Israel in 1948. UNRWA was formed in 1949.

UNRWA has a completely different mandate than the individual organizations. They also do a great job, if they get in. But they do not have the same resources and do not have the same mandate. They also do not have that mandate on the West Bank, in Jordan, in Lebanon, or in Syria.

My question concerned why payments are not being made to Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. There is no obstacle for UNRWA to act there. Israel's decision does not apply there. What prevents the government from providing UNRWA with support there?

And does the government see UNRWA as part of a pre-negotiated two-state solution or not?

The government gets stuck and says: Now we take it from there. But Olof Skoog's report has been clear; the indications are clear regarding the fact that one is not living up to Article 2 of the association agreement. In that case, the government should have some thought on what should be put forward.

Let us try to push to pause the preferential trade agreement. For that does not require full consensus, and Sweden could make a contribution by being clear early on and not waiting and seeing. The concern with the government's position is that one waits and sees instead of being clear and acting to also set a cost for Israel to continue acting as they do. What is happening now in the Middle East is really not okay, nor is it when it comes to the population in Gaza.

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Statsrådet Benjamin Dousa (M)

Madam Speaker! The government is definitely not waiting and watching; rather, Sweden is one of the countries in the entire EU that is acting most offensively right now. If we look at the sanctions tool, we see that it is two, three, or perhaps four other countries in the entire EU that are currently pushing for sanctions against not only violent, extreme settlers – the government has done that for a long time – but also extreme Israeli ministers. It is only a few other countries that are doing it. We are truly offensive.

Regarding the trade agreement with Israel, Sweden is also one of the few countries at this moment that has pushed for the review. While we stand here and debate, it is being presented to the foreign ministers in Brussels. We think it is a good arrangement that it happens in a serious manner. We will, of course, take a position on what is presented during the day.

Just as I have explained earlier in the debate, we have a very extensive aid work in Lebanon, in Syria, in the West Bank and in Jordan, both directly humanitarian and developmental, not least in the West Bank. If one looks at the last decades, one sees that only a few countries in the entire world have a development aid work as extensive as Sweden has right now.

I want to return to the discussion earlier in the interpellation debate. There is a party that is spreading disinformation about Swedish aid. It is the Social Democrats, who are creating the image in Sweden and among the Swedish population that we are doing nothing. At the same time, it is only one other EU country that this year has paid out more to the humanitarian response in Gaza and the region than the Swedish government has.

I would gladly have a debate about UNRWA, about the trade agreement, and about much else linked to the region, but it must be a debate based on facts where one does not blow up conflicts that do not exist.

The interpellations debate was hereby concluded.

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