JERUSALEM (JTA) — Sweden’s Foreign Ministry said its embassy in Israel’s condemnation of a Swedish newspaper report that the IDF harvests Palestinian organs does not represent the government’s stance.
The Swedish Embassy in Tel Aviv had released a statement calling Tuesday’s report in a Swedish newspaper "appalling," but the Swedish Foreign Ministry told Ynet Thursday that, "The embassy in Tel Aviv responded in accordance to Israeli public opinion, however the Swedish government is committed to freedom of the press."
Israel’s Foreign Ministry criticized its Swedish counterpart in a statement saying, "We wonder why the Swedish Foreign Ministry does not respond to the report with severity. We would expect the ministry to warmly accept the condemnation of the report as did the embassy in Tel Aviv."
In a large spread in its culture section a few days ago, the Swedish daily Aftonbladet reported that young Palestinian men allegedly were seized by Israel and returned to their families with missing organs. The story ran under the headline "They plunder the organs of our sons."
