Israel Matzav

Swedish ISM activist deported

Maybe we can have another fight with the obnoxious Swedish foreign minister, Carl Bildt (pictured) over this one. The 'Palestinian' news agency Maan reports that a Swedish ISM activist has been denied entry into Israel and deported.

Niklas Berg, the Stockholm, Sweden-based project coordinator for the group, was on his way to visit programs run by the agency and funded by the Swedish development agency in Jerusalem.

Upon arrival at Ben Gurion, his colleagues said, Berg was taken aside for interrogation, fingerprinted, and asked probing questions about his colleagues and friends in the West Bank.

A statement from the organization said Berg was told by interrogators that if he gave the names and contact information of several colleagues, he would be permitted to enter Israel. If he refused to cooperate, he would be held in airport custody for a week.

A colleague waiting for Berg said contacts at the Swedish Embassy told her that Berg would not be granted entry due to security concerns and that there was nothing the embassy could do to stop the deportation. He was returned to Sweeden at 5 a.m. the next morning.

"That he should be regarded as a security threat is completely unacceptable," a statement from the Solidarity Association said, adding that the purpose of his visit was to "monitor Swedish aid projects that strive to enable children and youth to grow up and take part in creating a future democratic Palestinian state, despite the occupation."

According to association officials, a letter was sent to the Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt,, asking that if the decision is not reversed, Israel's ambassador in Stockholm be summoned to clarify the situation.

There's not much to clarify. Every country in the world either grants or denies non-citizens the right to entry based upon criteria that country deems fit.

I wonder if Berg was also a passenger on the flotilla.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:06 PM