Government’s response to situation in Israel and Palestine

Opinion piece by Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Minister for Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard, Minister for Energy, Business and Industry Ebba Busch and Minister for Education Johan Pehrson, Svenska Dagbladet, 23 May 2025.

On 24–26 March, Minister for Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard visited Israel and Palestine. The purpose was to examine how Sweden can contribute to the improvement of the current situation and promote bilateral relations.

In light of the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza, the Government has approved a new support package of SEK 300 million to address the acute needs of the civilian population. The support is to be distributed to the UN Palestinian Territory Humanitarian Fund, the UN World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the UN Development Programme and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

The Government has decided to allocate SEK 800 million to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the region. Sweden is also continuing its support to the response in Gaza through extensive core support to a number of key humanitarian actors. The Government’s core support to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) will be discontinued.

Today, 16 December, Minister for Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard is taking part in the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels.

Statement by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union on recent attacks against UNIFIL.

On 7 October 2023, Hamas committed the worst mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson was joined by other ministers in a ceremony at Stockholm’s Great Synagogue on the evening of 7 October 2024 to honour the memory of the victims of the attack.

The military escalation in Lebanon has had major humanitarian consequences. Sweden is therefore increasing its humanitarian support to Lebanon by a total of SEK 83.5 million. The support will be divided between the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the Lebanese Red Cross, Save the Children and the UN Lebanon Humanitarian Fund.

The Government decided on 2 October to resume embassy operations in Beirut, Lebanon. The Embassy is now in place.

This strategy aims to support actors working for more stable, democratic and sustainable development in the Middle East and North Africa, including in Yemen and Palestine. The strategy applies from 21 March 2024 to 31 December 2027 and provides a total of approximately SEK 2.3 billion.

Iran: Statement by the High Representative on behalf of the EU on the Iranian attack against Israel

Statement by the High Representative on behalf of the EU on the polio vaccination campaign in Gaza.

Opinion piece by Minister for Foreign Affairs Tobias Billström, Expressen, 15 July 2024.

The Government is paying out SEK 100 million in core support to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The disbursement is being made in response to the urgent humanitarian situation in Gaza and in light of the new measures UNRWA has taken to strengthen internal supervision and control.