The article published in Sweden
Egyptian editorial: Sweden victim to Israeli blackmail
State paper publishes editorial in defense of Sweden following Israel's recent censure over country's refusal to officially condemn report accusing IDF soldiers of harvesting Palestinians' organs. Says 'Israel trying to use blackmail against West's freedom of speech'
Egypt is speaking out against Israel and coming to Sweden's defense: "Israel is trying to use blackmail against freedom of expression in the West," an editorial in the Egyptian state newspaper al-Ahram published o Monday read.
The editorial, titled "Israeli blackmail" criticizes Israel of its recent protest against Sweden following an article published in a Swedish newspaper accusing IDF soldiers of harvesting and trading Palestinians' organs.
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The article reads: "It seems that the extremist Israeli government, headed by Benjamin Netanyahu, will never cease its provocative steps against the world and its attempt to blackmail any power that tries to break the barrier of silence and expose Israel's barbaric steps against the Palestinians."
The editorial continues to criticize Israel, and in particular its Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman: "Recently there has been an escalation in the tone of American and European criticism of Israel's conduct and its failure to live up to its commitments, first and foremost halting construction in settlements.
"In light of US President Barack Obama's call to completely freeze construction in settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem in order to jumpstart the peace process, Israel's extremist Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman barbarically declared that there is no agreement with the US preventing Jews from building in east Jerusalem."
"It's a well-known Israeli game, that tries to combine tactics of evading the international commitment to stop settlement construction according to the Road Map, and it includes extortion attempts against anyone that opposes Israel or demands it lives up to what it signed.
"Therefore Obama and his government are subject to recurring accusations from the Israeli right on a daily basis. The latest victim of Israel's extortion campaign is Sweden, which currently serves as president of the European Union.
"Israel has threatened to weaken Sweden's role in the Middle East, due to its refusal to officially condemn a journalist's report accusing the occupation forces of killing Palestinians in order to trade in their organs."
In sum, the Egyptian daily says, "In this case, Israel is trying to use blackmail against the stable freedom of speech in the West and is attacking a country like Sweden that has a balanced history in the Arab-Israeli conflict in everything to do with the horrors of the occupation, the peace process, settlements and the takeover of occupied land.
"One wonders whether Europe and the United States will cease being silent and say: Enough Israeli blackmail'."
