gelatik
16.05.02, 00:06
Sweden To Protest Israeli Destruction of Bethlehem Peace Center
STOCKHOLM, May – Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh said on Monday Sweden
plans to formally protest Israel's destruction of a Bethlehem peace center
located near the Church of the Nativity.
The center, which was damaged during the 38-day Israeli siege at the Church of
the Nativity, was partially funded and designed by Sweden, new agencies
reported.
"We have reacted very strongly to this. We are going through the information we
have now and we will react both in Sweden and in Israel," Lindh said.
She added that Sweden will “react both via the Swedish embassy in Israel and
through the Israeli embassy in Stockholm.”
According to the AFP, the church and its surroundings were desecrated during
the siege. It "appeared" the Israeli army was responsible for the destruction,
Lindh said.
"This is yet another example of how Swedish taxpayers' money and development
aid projects are being destroyed," she added.
AFP reported that Sweden, among several other countries, paid for an extensive
renovation of Bethlehem's center in the late 1990s. The center, designed by
Swedish architect Snorre Lindquist, houses exhibition halls and a book
store.
Such renovation included modernizing the water and electricity systems,
rebuilding the market site, laying new pavement for the streets and at Manger
Square, and building the peace center, news agencies reported.
