The foreign ministers of Israel and Sweden held their first phone call in seven years on Monday, a move hailed by the top Israeli diplomat as the "relaunching of relations" after protracted tensions between the two countries.
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Foreign Minister Yair Lapid wrote on Twitter that he spoke with his Swedish counterpart, Ann Linde, and thanked her for "Sweden's strong and solid commitment to the security of Israel and her recognition in the course of our conversation of Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people.
"I look forward to increased cooperation with Sweden on bilateral and multilateral issues," Lapid said.
There was no immediate comment from the Swedish Foreign Ministry.
Israel has moved to mend ties with several countries since Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Lapid formed a unity government in June, ousting longtime leader Benjamin Netanyahu from office after 12 years and following four deadlocked elections.
Sweden's relations with Israel have been strained since the Social Democratic-led government in 2014 recognized Palestinian statehood. Its former Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom's comments concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict drew angry responses from Israeli officials.
Wallstrom accused the IDF of carrying out "extrajudicial killings" of Palestinians who carry out terror attacks. The then-Swedish foreign minister sparked further outcry when, following a 2015 Islamic State terror attack on Paris' Bataclan nightclub that killed 115, Wallstrom cited the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as one of the reasons "there are so many people who have become radicalized."
Sweden's Prime Minister Stefan Lofven has prioritized combating antisemitism in recent years, attending an International Holocaust Memorial event in Israel before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in what was the first visit by a Swedish leader in 21 years.
Sweden will host world leaders at the International Forum on Holocaust Remembrance in Malmo, the country's third-largest city, next month.
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