Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday called for the Swedish government to condemn an article in a Stockholm newspaper suggesting Israeli troops harvested the organs of Palestinians they killed.
An official present at the weekly session of the Israeli Cabinet said Netanyahu told his ministers he did not expect the Swedish government to apologize for the article in the tabloid Aftonbladet but he did expect it to take a stand.
"We're not asking the Swedish government for an apology, we're asking for their condemnation," the official, who was speaking on condition of anonymity in keeping with Cabinet rules, quoted Netanyahu as saying.
The Prime Minister added that the story was reminiscent of medieval libels that Jews killed Christian children for their blood, said the official.
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt has already rejected Israeli calls for an official condemnation.
The article implied without evidence that there was a link between charges of organ theft from Palestinians and the recent arrest in the US of an American Jew suspected of illicit organ trafficking.
Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz said that if Sweden continued its refusal to condemn the Aftonbladet story Israel might cancel a visit by Bildt scheduled for next month.
"Whoever doesn't distance himself from this kind of blood libel might not be a welcome guest in Israel at this time," Steinitz told Israel Radio. "Until the Swedish government doesn't understand differently, the state of Israel, the state of the Jews, cannot ignore anti-Semitic expressions and modern recycling of medieval anti-Semitism."
The Israeli Government Press Office, which accredits foreign journalists visiting the country, said it was delaying approval for an Aftonbladet correspondent and photographer seeking permission to enter the Gaza Strip by the maximum 90 days allowed by regulations.
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