Sweden’s government is considering tougher protest laws after pro-Palestinian demonstrators confronted ministers outside parliament last week.
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Monday, “We cannot have all the world’s conflicts playing out on Swedish streets,” as Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer convened party leaders, police, and security officials to discuss the escalating incidents.
The flashpoint came when Defence Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin was followed from parliament by protesters shouting in what officials described as a threatening manner. Similar demonstrations in Gothenburg and Malmö have also targeted Jewish communities, which Kristersson labelled “completely unreasonable.”
Christian Democrat leader Ebba Busch and MEP Alice Teodorescu Måwe called the protests part of a “radical Palestinian movement” and proposed restraining orders and public-space bans against those engaging in “antisocial dominance behaviour.”
Opposition leader Magdalena Andersson also condemned the incidents, stressing that while Sweden’s freedom of assembly is strong, police must guarantee public safety during demonstrations.
This is not the first time extremists have targeted Swedish politicians. Sweden Democrat MP Jessica Stegrud was physically attacked by a pro-Palestinian activist outside the Riksdag in June.
The assailant, wearing a keffiyeh, threatened Stegrud and her family, shouted insults, and struck her while attempting to seize her phone.
Despite video evidence, prosecutors closed the preliminary investigation.
