Response to interpellation 2025/26:574 on the Israeli settlement policy and the Palestinian elections
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
M believes that Sweden is a major humanitarian donor to Gaza and that the government prioritizes acting through the EU to achieve an effect against settler products 1 2. M advocates for proposals on sanctions against extremist settlers and ministers as well as increased tariffs 3. M agrees on the importance of free and fair elections in Palestine as well as the Palestinian Authority's reforms 2. M argues that Sweden does more than many others to stop the suffering in Gaza 4. V believes that the government fails to exert sufficient pressure on Israel and that the EU track lacks effect 5. V advocates for a ban on trade with settler products and economic sanctions 5 6. V advocates that Israel should be covered by WTO rules 6. V believes that a red-green government can conduct a policy that puts pressure on those responsible for the violence 7.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Utrikesministern Maria Malmer Stenergard (M)
Mr. Speaker! Håkan Svenneling has asked me what I and Sweden are doing to ensure that the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas leads to an end to the killing of civilians, as well as what is being done to support a peaceful development in Gaza with opportunities for the reconstruction of housing, hospitals, and infrastructure. Furthermore, Håkan Svenneling has asked me how I and Sweden will act to support ensuring that the scheduled Palestinian elections can be held. Håkan Svenneling has also asked if I intend to work towards the EU introducing sanctions against Israel similar to the sanctions the EU has imposed on Russia since the start of the war against Ukraine, what I and Sweden are doing so that the international community acts against Israel's illegal settlements, and if I intend to work towards the EU tightening its sanctions against Israeli settlers, as well as if I intend to work towards a ban in the EU against trade with products from Israeli settlements. Håkan Svenneling has also asked if I intend to take any initiatives so that Sweden applies the existing EU legislation on the labeling of origin of products from occupied territories to a greater extent. Finally, Håkan Svenneling has asked if I intend to work towards national legislation that prohibits Swedish companies and investors from engaging in economic cooperation in the form of investments in illegal settlements and their operations.
The situation in Gaza is devastating, with an immense civilian suffering. The peace plan must be implemented immediately, in accordance with international law and with meaningful Palestinian participation. The government welcomes the recent diplomatic progress made towards achieving a sustainable peace in Gaza. This hopefully paves the way for a full disarmament of Hamas and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
Sweden is one of the largest humanitarian donors to Gaza in the world. That support contributes to the highest degree to meeting the enormous humanitarian needs, to improved health and healthcare for Gaza's civilian population, and to repairing critical infrastructure.
The Government considers it important that the Palestinian Authority conducts free and fair elections. Sweden and the EU also expect Israel to fulfill its obligations in accordance with the Oslo Accords to contribute to the fact that Palestinian elections can be carried out, including in East Jerusalem.
The Government has clearly signaled its opposition to the deteriorating situation in the West Bank, where settler violence and illegal settlement expansion continue. We welcome that the EU has been able to agree on further sanctions against extremist Israeli settlers and settler organizations. The Government will continue to push for further sanction listings, including of extremist Israeli ministers who drive the illegal settlement policy.
The Government considers that more needs to be done to reduce trade with Israeli settlements and increase the pressure on the Israeli government. The Government has therefore taken the initiative to strengthen the EU's differentiation policy. This could, for example, mean increased tariffs or requirements for export certificates. This work continues and is something that the Government is actively driving within the EU. The Government is open to all options that can gather sufficient support in the EU and have a real impact on trade with settlement products. The Government prioritizes acting through the EU because the impact and effect will then be greater.
Sweden and the EU are working simultaneously to increase awareness of the risks associated with economic and financial activities linked to Israeli settlements. Companies are expected to take measures to ensure that their activities respect human rights.
Håkan Svenneling (V)
Mr. Speaker! Few other foreign policy issues have dominated this mandate period as much as Israel's occupation of Palestine. However, it is all too rarely that the issue is described in exactly that way – as an ongoing occupation of Palestine by Israel. But the acts of violence that we see the settlers committing are part of the occupation policy, a policy that has a direct link to politicians in Israel's far-right government.
Despite the fact that the violence, killing and displacement of Palestinians has increased very significantly since Hamas's horrific attack on Israel from Gaza, European politicians and the Swedish government have not seriously succeeded in putting pressure on Israel to stop the violence and bring an end to the occupation.
The terrible things happening in Gaza must not obscure the view of what is happening in the West Bank. The UN human rights office reported in March 2026 that over 36,000 Palestinians in the West Bank have been forced to leave their homes during the past year. It is an illegal mass displacement that violates international humanitarian law.
Instead, the EU drags every issue regarding measures against Israel into an endless long bench without anything major happening.
Mr. Speaker! At one point, it will be clear if there is a change of power in the election in a month. A new red-green government will act against the settlement violence on the West Bank and not hide behind the EU in the way the right-wing government does. The EU is Israel's largest trading partner and is therefore economically very important for Israel's occupation. A review conducted by the independent organization Global Echo has shown that a fifth of all exports to the EU from Israel comes from settlements.
Even though we in this debate hear the Foreign Minister tell us about everything she does, she is treading water. At every meeting in Brussels that she has traveled to – and the meetings she has not traveled to – the question of measures against Israel does not move forward. It is always some country that blocks.
Right now, the question is whether tougher measures should be introduced against so-called settlement products, i.e., products that have been produced by occupying Palestinian land. Here, the EU seems to be split down the middle into two equally large camps. The latest meeting in July ended with the conclusion that they might have a digital meeting and decide something. Otherwise, the regular meeting is planned for October. The months pass, the settlements remain, and the EU does nothing or at least very little.
Now measures are required that exert concrete pressure. The world needs to introduce sharp sanctions against Israel to bring an end to the occupation. It is about both sanctions against those who are responsible and economic sanctions against the country. The EU's sanctions must be expanded to also concern the militant settler movement. We have seen some steps but not in a sufficiently large extent. But above all, goods from Israeli settlements must not be able to be sold within the EU.
You in the government talk about the effect of your policy. Right now, it has no effect because of your EU track. That is why other countries have moved ahead and introduced their own measures. Latest in line was Belgium, which introduced a ban on products from occupied land. Before that, countries such as Ireland, the Netherlands, and Spain had already acted. It is also in line with the International Court of Justice's, ICJ's, decision.
If we do not do something, the settlements will increase. Ministers like Smotrich and Ben-Gvir have expanded settlements as their political goal, which they want to achieve. As long as the EU does not put its foot down, their plan can continue without hindrance.
Utrikesministern Maria Malmer Stenergard (M)
Mr. Speaker! The Government has strongly condemned the Israeli decisions aimed at increasing Israel's control over the West Bank.
As late as Friday, in connection with the presidential inauguration in Colombia, I met with Israel's Foreign Minister. At that time, I spoke directly with him about precisely the settlement policy and was clear about our view on it and our criticism.
Håkan Svenneling is also well aware of which proposals the government is pushing to counter this development. These are proposals for additional sanctions against settlers who commit acts of violence against Palestinians on the West Bank, sanctions against extremist Israeli ministers who are pushing for the illegal settlement policy, and higher tariffs and clearer labeling of origin for settlement products. In my response, I am clear that the government is open to all options that have a real impact on trade with settlement products and that can gather sufficient support in the EU.
When one listens to Håkan Svenneling, it can sound as if it is Sweden that is standing in the way of measures regarding putting a stop to the settlement policy. But it is other countries in the EU that are doing it. We are really trying to influence. We have taken initiatives together with France to really push forward. I can only regret that there is still no qualified majority, which is required.
I am also clear that the government prioritizes acting through the EU, the world's largest internal market. That is where we can truly make a real difference, even if it is frustrating when we are unable to reach decisions.
Vänsterpartiet is pushing proposals that partly have no prospects whatsoever of gaining support in the EU, and partly aim at more than just the Israeli decision-makers who bear responsibility for the conducted policy. Proposals to, for example, freeze the entire association agreement with Israel mean that Vänsterpartiet also wants to sever ties with parts of Israeli society that do not stand behind the actions in Gaza or in the West Bank at all. I am convinced that this is not the way forward.
Håkan Svenneling (V)
Mr. Speaker! Despite the so-called peace agreement between Israel and Hamas, the violence in Gaza continues, and more than 73,000 people have now been killed during the war. People in Gaza are living in the midst of a humanitarian catastrophe under extremely difficult conditions, and almost the entire population is still displaced. The majority of all hospitals have been destroyed, journalists and aid workers have been killed, and aid shipments are still being obstructed. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered that Israel's military shall continue to take control of 70 percent of the Gaza Strip.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs and her colleague, the Minister for Development Cooperation, repeatedly emphasize how much money Sweden gives to humanitarian activities in Gaza, but they say nothing about the support that the Swedish government has uniquely withdrawn – except when it concerns the Trump administration – to the central UN agency UNRWA. The Minister for Foreign Affairs also says nothing about the fact that the changes that have been made to the aid, the so-called development aid, have also reduced the conditions for long-term sustainability for many of the Swedish organizations operating in Gaza.
Mr. Speaker! The Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has called for elections to the Palestinian parliament in November this year and a presidential election in early 2027. There is a great need for new elections to be held in Palestine, as the mandate for the ruling politicians expired a long time ago. Abbas is old, and renewed leadership is needed.
Whether elections will actually be able to be held is, however, entirely dependent on whether the occupying power Israel will enable elections to be held. Throughout all the years, Israel has until now not followed the agreements of the Oslo Accords and allowed elections in East Jerusalem. This is part of the occupation policy. Demolitions of houses, the wall that divides the West Bank, the settlements in the so-called E1 area and the prevention of elections are all parts of Israel's occupation policy.
It is good that Sweden raises its voice, and it is good that Sweden protests, but as long as we do not succeed in putting any measures behind the words, nothing happens.
I am not critical of the line the government is pursuing in the EU. I am critical of how the EU conducts its process, that progress is not being made and that it is only marginal measures against individual settlers and a single settler organization that one manages to achieve. One does not, however, manage to take on the Israeli government, which in many parts is a right-wing extremist government. It is this that I oppose.
I absolutely think that we should be able to have economic sanctions against Israel in a completely different way. I understand that some of the proposals I am pushing are quite far from getting support within the EU, but for me, it is not about me having anything against the State of Israel or the Jewish people. I do, however, think that Israel should be covered by WTO rules as long as one occupies another country.
WTO rules mean that one can trade with Sweden in a certain way, but tariffs are imposed in the same way as for other countries that do not have agreements with Sweden and the EU. It does not mean that we should trade with settlement products. What is reasonable regarding settlement products is that we get a complete stop on that trade, as it is directly linked to the occupation of Palestine. These are the economic arguments we are not reaching at the moment.
Utrikesministern Maria Malmer Stenergard (M)
Mr. Speaker! I intended to focus on the situation in Gaza in this contribution, and I will honestly say that I am quite frustrated that we have not come further in ending the suffering in Gaza.
Despite the ceasefire, the humanitarian situation remains very difficult. We see some improvements, but it is far from sufficient. We have recently seen a positive development that hopefully can mean that Hamas is disarmed – which is absolutely necessary – and that Israel withdraws from Gaza. However, we must not get ahead of the developments, as the situation is very fragile.
At the same time, Sweden, the EU, and other actors can already start building for a future in Gaza, and that is what we are also doing. Since October 2023, Sweden's total humanitarian aid to Palestine amounts to over 2.4 billion kronor. We are the EU's largest humanitarian donor to Gaza, and yet it sounds as if this doesn't matter at all to Håkan Svenneling! I must say that I am very questioning of that. Doesn't Håkan Svenneling think, for example, that our support for the World Food Programme – which can actually operate to a large extent in Gaza – is important?
Sweden contributes significant support for initiatives in areas such as healthcare, psychosocial support, and education. These are initiatives that are absolutely necessary to lay the foundation for reconstruction and recovery. Sweden's support also provides opportunities for precisely early recovery and reconstruction through the Team Gaza Initiative, which the European Commission launched in July.
In conclusion, I agree with Håkan Svenneling on the importance of free and fair elections being held in Palestine, as well as the importance of the Palestinian Authority's reforms and meaningful participation in the implementation of the peace plan for Gaza.
Håkan Svenneling (V)
Mr. Speaker! Few other issues in Swedish foreign policy are as clear dividing lines as Israel's occupation of Palestine, and during this parliamentary term, there have been many debates here on this subject.
I usually describe this as a kind of foreign policy motherlode between right and left. Few parliamentary terms have had such a high tone on this issue, and we have seen how several representatives for the Swedish right have truly cranked up their unreserved support for Israel to new heights.
This has occurred at the same time as many of our European neighboring countries have actually come to the same conclusion as we have – Sweden recognized Palestine as a state in 2014, when Maria Malmer Stenergard and I were newly elected to the Riksdag. During this parliamentary term, country after country in Europe and in the world at large has followed Sweden's example and recognized Palestine as a state.
If we are to achieve peace and reach a two-state solution, two equal parties must sit at the negotiating table. With a prime minister like Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court, ICC, it will however be difficult.
Israel occupies Palestine – both Gaza and the West Bank. Israel conducts an occupation policy that makes a distinction between Palestinians and Israelis, and Israeli far-right politicians do everything to stop the world's support for Palestine and all efforts for peace.
Sweden needs a different policy for Palestine and Israel, and I believe it is possible with a red-green government. We shall pursue a policy that puts pressure on those who are responsible for the violence and the killing, and we shall support the forces that want peace and reconciliation.
I do not think everything the government does is bad, but I think the next government really should give some thought to the EU track that this government has pursued. We are getting nowhere right now. You are treading water in the meetings in Brussels, and I think it is time that Sweden actually finds its own line in these issues in a completely different way than we have seen the Foreign Minister drive.
Utrikesministern Maria Malmer Stenergard (M)
Mr. Speaker! As I have previously said in many interpellation debates in this chamber, Sweden is doing far much more than many others to put a stop to the terrible suffering in Gaza. We are also leading in the EU to put more pressure on Israel regarding the country's actions in the West Bank. If one were to turn on the TV and listen to this debate, I think one would easily get a different impression if one listened to the opposition. It is clear that the opposition has its purposes with this, but I can only regret that.
Have the EU and the international community done enough? No, obviously not, and that is exactly why the government wants to see more action and fewer statements.
I do, however, agree with Håkan Svenneling on one thing, namely that there is a clear difference between how the government and the opposition approach the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Speaking of unreserved support, it is the Left Party (V) that is unable to maintain a consistent line between support for Palestine and declarations of support for terrorist groups.
Time and again, in recent years, we have seen Left Party representatives express support for radical organizations and individuals. This happened most recently now, when several Left Party members of Parliament wrote letters of support to convicted terrorists and child murderers.
The fact-check failed, they said, but since this happens time and again in Vänsterpartiet, I cannot draw any other conclusion than that what is failing is Vänsterpartiets judgment.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.