Diplomatic officials: " A horrible and stupid statement that displays complete ignorance about Middle East."
By GIL STERN STERN HOFFMANcarl Bildt 224.88(photo credit: Courtesy Talarforum [file])
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt angered Israeli diplomatic officials Wednesday when he made a direct comparison between Hamas and opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu.
In an interview with a Swedish radio station, Bildt was asked how it was possible for Israel to make peace with the Palestinians while Hamas controlled the Gaza Strip.
"It is possible to make peace without Hamas the same way it is possible to make peace without Netanyahu on the Israeli side," Bildt said.
Israeli diplomatic officials called the comparison "chutzpah" and said that Bildt had a long history of making pro-Palestinian statements.
"It is a horrible and stupid statement that displays complete ignorance about the Middle East," a Foreign Ministry official told The Jerusalem Post. "He clearly does not understand the difference between the leader of an Israeli political party and a group that is engaging in the terror that threatens Europe as much as Israel."
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![carl Bildt 224.88 (photo credit: Courtesy Talarforum [file])](https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/q_auto/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_537,w_822/18967 "carl Bildt 224.88")