Swedish FM visits Israel to mend ties after diplomatic rift

JERUSALEM — Sweden’s overseas curate visited Israel connected Monday successful an effort to mend ties aft years successful which the 2 countries person been astatine likelihood implicit the struggle with the Palestinians.

Sweden’s Social Democratic-led authorities recognized Palestinian statehood successful 2014, making it the archetypal ample European state to bash truthful since the extremity of the Cold War. Its erstwhile overseas minister’s comments successful enactment of the Palestinians drew aggravated responses from Israeli officials.

Ann Linde tweeted that her sojourn — the archetypal by a Swedish overseas curate successful a decennary — marks a “new beginning.”

Linde began her travel with a sojourn to the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial successful Jerusalem, wherever she placed a wreath successful representation of the 6 cardinal Jews who were killed by Nazi Germany and its collaborators.

“On behalf of Sweden I committedness that we accidental – ne'er again, and mean it. We volition proceed to instrumentality enactment to combat anti-Semitism successful each its forms, to marque definite that we ne'er forget, “ she said.

Sweden hosted satellite leaders astatine the International Forum connected Holocaust Remembrance successful Malmo, the country’s third-largest city, past week.

Linde besides met with Israel’s mostly ceremonial president, Isaac Herzog, and met her Israeli counterpart, Yair Lapid, aboriginal successful the day. The overseas ministers held their archetypal telephone telephone successful 7 years past month.

Linde was besides expected to conscionable with Palestinian officials successful the occupied West Bank.

Israel’s caller authorities conjugation of parties from crossed its governmental spectrum, has looked to amended relations with different countries pursuing the agelong regularisation of erstwhile Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose nationalist policies strained ties with neighboring Jordan and immoderate European countries, arsenic good arsenic with the Democratic enactment successful the United States.

Israel’s existent premier minister, Naftali Bennett, is opposed to a Palestinian state, and past leaders person said the planetary assemblage should not admit specified a authorities until a last statement is negotiated betwixt the 2 sides. There person been nary substantive bid talks successful implicit a decade.