BERLIN: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will travel to Israel on Tuesday, the German dpa news agency and other media reported, as Western nations step up their efforts to forestall a dangerous spread of the Middle East conflict.
Scholz is scheduled to depart for Israel following his meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah in Berlin on Tuesday, dpa reported, and would then travel onwards to Egypt.
A government spokesperson declined to comment on the reported travel plans.
“This is really a sign of solidarity,” Ron Prosor, Israel’s ambassador to Germany, told German TV channel Welt. “He is the first prime minister to visit Israel (since the Hamas-Israel war erupted) and we see that as incredibly important.”
The German government has rallied around Israel since at least 1,300 people were killed and dozens taken hostage in an unprecedented, mass cross-border infiltration by Hamas militants into Israeli towns and villages near Gaza on Oct. 7.
Israel has responded with its heaviest ever bombardment of the Gaza Strip, which Hamas authorities say have killed at least 2,750 people, in preparation for an expected ground invasion.
Israel’s relentless air strikes have complicated diplomatic efforts to allow foreign passport holders to leave the besieged, densely populated enclave while allowing in aid for Gaza via the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.
Heightening international fears of the conflict expanding, Lebanon’s Hezbollah, a Hamas ally, has been exchanging fire with Israel across the border for days in the deadliest escalation since they fought a major war in 2006.
Last week, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock held talks in Israel and Egypt on how to defuse the current crisis.
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly also visited Israel last week, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in Tel Aviv again on Monday as part of an extended Middle East trip, according to a Reuters witness.
Germany’s Scholz to visit Israel, Egypt this week amid Mideast conflict
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Germany’s Scholz to visit Israel, Egypt this week amid Mideast conflict
- “This is really a sign of solidarity," Israeli envoy says
Sweden plans to tighten rules for gaining citizenship
- The country has for years struggled to integrate migrants, with many not learning the language and living in disadvantaged areas with higher crime and jobless rates
STOCKHOLM: Sweden said Monday it planned to tighten rules to acquire citizenship, introducing “honest living” and financial requirements, a language and general knowledge test and raising the residency requirement from five to eight years.
If approved by parliament, the new rules would enter into force on June 6, Sweden’s national holiday, and would apply even to applications already being processed.
Migration Minister Johan Forssell, whose right-wing minority government holds a majority with the backing of the far-right Sweden Democrats, told reporters it was currently too easy to acquire Swedish citizenship.
“Citizenship needs to mean more than it does today,” he said.
“Pride is something you feel when you’ve worked hard at something. But working hard is not something that has characterised citizenship.
“It has been possible to become a citizen after five years without knowing a single word of Swedish, without knowing anything about our Swedish society, without having any own income.”
Referring to a case that recently made headlines, he said: “You can even become one while you’re sitting in custody accused of murder.
“This obviously sends completely wrong signals, both to those who do right by themselves and those who are already citizens.”
Following a large influx of migrants to Sweden during the 2015 migrant crisis, successive left- and right-wing governments have tightened asylum and migration rules.
The country has for years struggled to integrate migrants, with many not learning the language and living in disadvantaged areas with higher crime and jobless rates.
Under the new rules, those who have criminal records — in their home country or in Sweden — and who have served their sentence would have to wait up to 17 years before being allowed to apply for citizenship, up from the current 10 years.
In addition, those deemed to not adhere to “honest living” requirements would not be granted citizenship.
That could include racking up mountains of debt, being served restraining orders or even having a drug addiction.
Applicants would also have to have a monthly pre-tax income of 20,000 kronor ($2,225), excluding pensioners and students.
The citizenship tests would be similar to those used in neighboring Denmark and the United States, the government said, with the first tests due to be held in August.
