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The armed forces must help the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to get Swedes out of Israel and Palestine.
Transport planes with personnel are now being placed on the Greek island of Rhodes to be able to quickly pick up Swedes who want to leave the conflict area.
As a result of the uncertain and difficult-to-judge development in the region, the embassy in Tel Aviv and the embassy in Amman, in consultation with the Foreign Ministry, have requested support from the Swedish Armed Forces to transport “Swedes and others” from the region if necessary.
“The uncertain and rapidly changing situation means that we are now further expanding our preparedness and flexibility,” says Foreign Minister Tobias Billström (M) in a written comment.
Lifted from Såtenäs
The Swedish Defense Forces’ Hercules plane took off on Sunday from Såtenäs airport to be kept in readiness in Rhodes. The hope is that the plane will be able to pick up Swedes from Ben Gurion Airport in Israel and from Amman Airport in Jordan – if necessary.
“The trips will be carried out if deemed necessary,” says Billström.
It is currently difficult to get out of the region, as commercial air traffic has been restricted since the Hamas attack on Israel last weekend.
Any evacuation requires that the Swedes who want to leave the area can get to the airports in Israel and Jordan. It mainly concerns Swedes in Israel and the West Bank. Gaza is today cordoned off.
Fly to Cyprus
The Swedes who may be evacuated are flown to Cyprus, where they can then take scheduled flights to Sweden.
“It is an active and good cooperation between all parties that means we can now ensure continued good preparedness and create the room for action we need to be able to offer support to Swedes in the region at short notice in a situation where uncertainty is increasing,” says Billström according to a press release.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already carried out two assisted flights with chartered planes for Swedes from Tel Aviv to Arlanda with a total of approximately 270 people.
Assisted trips home and evacuation trips offered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are always at cost price for the traveler, the ministry points out in a press release. You must also be able to identify yourself.
The Foreign Ministry estimated earlier this week that around 4,000 people with connections to Sweden are in Israel and around 800 in the Palestinian territories, of which 400 people are in Gaza and the same number in the West Bank.