Israel’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday morning summoned Swedish Ambassador Carl Magnus Nesser for clarification regarding his country’s vote in support of a UNESCO resolution critical of Israeli policies in Jerusalem and Gaza. Sweden was the only Western state to support the resolution, which was passed by a smaller than usual majority.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Emanuel Nachshon said that the ambassador was told how “bitterly disappointed” Israel has been at the Swedish vote on Tuesday, which was “an anti-Israel vote and part of a systematic voting pattern.”
The resolution calls Israel an “occupying power” in Jerusalem, does not recognize Israel’s 1968 annexation of eastern Jerusalem which unified the country’s eternal capital, and criticizes archaeological digs being carried out in and around the Old City, which reveal its indisputable Jewish past.
The resolution also pins on Israel the responsibility for the suffering of the Arabs of the Gaza Strip, whose Hamas rulers invest international aid funds in preparing for the next war against Israel.