News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) The Swedish government distanced itself Thursday from an ambassador's condemnation of an article accusing Israeli troops of stealing Palestinian Authority Arabs' organs. The Swedish Foreign Ministry clarified that, unlike Ambassador to Israel Elisabet Borsiin Bonnier, it does not view the article as “appalling.” In addition to calling the article “shocking and appalling,” Bonnier said, “freedom of the press and freedom of expression are freedoms which carry a certain responsibility.”

Israeli officials condemned the article as well, and accused its writers of encouraging hate crimes. “This article has clear elements of medieval blood libels against Jews,” Foreign Ministry officials said.

The article, printed in the Swedish paper Aftonbladet, claims that the IDF has been removing organs from PA Arab youth killed in combat or terrorist operations since the early 1990s. The author of the article, Donald Bostrom, admitted Wednesday that he did not know whether or not the story was true.

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