MO Mikael Oscarsson (KD) who hosted the event spoke on behalf of the other MPs present and expressed his shock over the incitement.  He announced that he would call the government to a public debate about the issue.

MP Oscarsson requested that FM Margot Wallstrom be forced to come and answer his challenging questions.  In the end, the parliament asked Minister for International Development Cooperation Isabella Lovin (MP) who oversees government funding of the PA to answer the questions.

The debate took place this morning - on Friday March 4 in the Swedish parliament.

This is a link to the video of the debate:

http://www.riksdagen.se/sv/Debatter--beslut/Interpellationsdebatter1/Debatt/?did=H310418

In a challenge entitled “The conditions of the financial assistance to Palestine”, MP Oscarsson presented the following challenge to the Minister, based on the information he was presented in the WZO/IAF/PMW event in parliament in January:

“The question of peace in the conflict between Israel and Palestine has for many years been one of the most important conflicts to resolve.  In 2010 brought hope and for a few months, we saw what would have been able to have brought peace to the region.

Long before these peace talks commenced the Quartet: the UN, EU, US and Russia - established a number of requirements. These requirements would require the Palestinian Authority to adhere to a rule for the peace talks.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated this requirement for the US Congress in 2009:

‘We will only work with the Palestinian Authority if it unambiguously and explicitly accepts the Quartet principles: a pledge of non-violence, recognition of Israel and acceptance of previous agreements and obligations, including the Roadmap.’

The roadmap says that all official Palestinian institutions must end incitement to violence and hatred against Israel.  Clinton was clear on the point that we can only cooperate with the Palestinian Authority if it fulfills the Quartet's demands for recognition of Israel, an end to incitement to hatred against Israel and an end to violence and terrorism.

These were quite basic and reasonable demands. The requirements should have been met before negotiations could begin.  So was not the case.   We have had many collapses since then, where Palestinian Authority time and again choses to encourage both terrorism and other repulsive crimes directed against Israel.

The Palestinian Authority continues to spread anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli propaganda through all available media channels and via education in schools. The Authority's schools claim that terrorists are heroes and that all of Israel belongs to the Palestinians.  The Authority celebrates terrorism by naming streets, squares, schools, and sports tournaments for known terrorists. In addition, funding given to the Palestinian Authority is used for them to pay salaries to released and convicted Palestinian terrorists.

Let me take two examples of statements made by Jibril Rajoub, one of the spokesmen of the Fatah Central Committee that glorifies and encourages the murder of Israeli individuals in the ongoing terror campaign:

‘17 martyrs (among them murderers of Israelis) were transferred yesterday to be buried. This is obviously a source of pride for all of us. I say: Anyone who performs these acts of heroism, we will in Fata encourage and bless. We see them as crowns for each Palestinian.’ (Official Palestinian TV January 2, 2016)

‘These individual actions are heroic, and I'm proud of them. I congratulate everyone who has performed them. I say to you; We are proud of you. Whoever confronts, fighting, dying as a martyr or become imprisoned - his identity is known. What I mean is that the struggle, the imprisoned, the martyrs, they are doing the Palestinian people a favor.’ (Official Palestinian TV October 17, 2015)

The Palestinian Authority's Ministry of Education (which Sweden is a major aid donor to) have named a number of schools for mass murderers, such Dalal Mughrab, responsible for the deaths of 12 children and 25 adults in a bus hijacking. The Authority has also named three schools after Abu Jihad who the Palestinian Authority itself ascribes the murder of 125 Israelis.

Cooperation Minister Isabella Lövin said in Parliament on May 5, 2015 that the support for democracy and human rights in Palestine also included a condition that Swedish funding must not contribute to sedition.

Based on my arguments and the anti-Semitic statements I have quoted, I wonder if it really goes together with the agreement we have.

Similar to the requirements which Clinton and the Quartet set for Palestine, Sweden should also be able to set requirements for an end to terrorism, incitement to hatred and violence, and an end to the continued financial assistance of terrorists by the Palestinian Authority.

If Sweden would require this open and work to put an end to Palestinian support for terror and incitement to violence, Sweden would once again be able to play a constructive role in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

With this as background, I wish that the Government Minister Isabella Lövin clarify:

a)how Swedish aid is used for the 25 schools which today are named after terrorists and that the government be persuaded to demand that the names of these schools be changed in order to receive continued funding

b)how Swedish development assistance to the Palestinian Authority can be made conditional on it not contributing to sedition and if so, how can we make sure that in actuality this does not happen?

Minister Lovin’s response:

Mr / Madam Speaker,

“Mikael Oscarsson has asked me how Swedish aid could be used to bring about a name change of 25 schools which today according to the questioner is named after terrorists and how the assistance can be conditioned so that payments to Palestinian terrorists cease, and if in the agreement between the Palestinian Authority and Sweden there are terms that stipulate that the activities financed with Swedish aid may not be allowed to contribute to incitement, and if so how it is ensured that this does not happen.

First I want to make clear to the questioner that support to the education sector or education ministry is not included in the strategy for Palestine decided by the Government for the period 2015-2019. Thus there is no earmarked Swedish aid to the schools the questioner mentions here

In my interpellation reply from May 5, 2015, I outlined the content of the cooperation agreement between Sweden and Palestine, which includes a number of partnership principles. Among them is a mutual commitment to democratization and greater respect for human rights and equality in Palestine. After recognition of Palestine, Sweden's relationship with Palestine has deepened. This increases the opportunity for Sweden to gain support for our views regarding Palestinian actions.

Sweden makes demands to the implementation of our aid: respect for human rights, on the struggle against corruption, work for equality and continued reform. Sweden has continuous political development dialogue with the Palestinian leadership. The General-Consulate in Jerusalem follows-up on each individual program, all of which are rights-based. Sweden's aid to the Palestinian Authority is channeled through the EU. The EU leads, on behalf of all Member States, the monitoring of aid to the Palestinian Authority through the so-called PEGASE mechanism. It includes different types of sector support with clear objectives and indicators, such as health support in the social sector. The monitoring of aid is rigorous.

The Swedish Government has been clear in its rejection of terrorist acts. The Government has made clear that the Palestinian knife attacks and all other acts of terrorism are reprehensible and must be condemned by all, that the violence must come to an immediate end and that the recent violence shows that the situation is unsustainable.

The Government is clear in its dialogue with representatives for both Palestine and Israel of the importance to renounce violence and hate propaganda and other actions that push parties further apart. The Government's ambition is that Sweden's aid, in addition to the set goals, should help to counter hate propaganda and incitement.

To quote UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon: ‘the whole international community must be ever more committed to actively help Palestinians and Israelis to rebuild trust and achieve an enduring peace before it is too late.”

At 19 minutes and ten seconds of the attached video she says the following:

“I am very worried about us standing like this in Sweden’s Parliament and further putting fuel to the fire, and to polarize this debate. That we are importing this very infected and bloody rhetoric that we absolutely don’t need to devote ourselves to when it’s about aid policy. We will support people in need in urgent situations, and we will also work and build long-term for peace, and we do that by giving people belief in the future, by strengthening water supply and infrastructure and economic development. It is the only way to prevent a bloody end to this conflict.”

MP Oscarsson replied by requoting some of the materials presented to him by Palestinian Media Watch and stating: "Do you actually mean that I shouldn't say this? This is Swedish tax money.  It would be terribly wrong if I as an MP didn't say what I say and you as a government should pressure to stop this."  He also pointed out that she still had not answered any of his questions.

The minister replied that in essence Israel is more responsible for the violence and that we need to point fingers at both sides I order to be balanced.  She emphasized that Abbas has said that he is against terror and violence.

Vice Chairman of the World Zionist Organization Dr. David Breakstone: “It is our hope that parliaments throughout the world will have public discussions such as this one and that the Palestinian Authority be forced to stop its incitement and support for terrorism.”

Former MK Dov Lipman of the WZO:  “I am happy that the action that we took forced this public debate and that the Swedish government is aware of the problem of funding the PA while this clear incitement continues.”