Early Wednesday afternoon, Stockholm police were alerted to the presence of an object “that appeared dangerous” in the Israeli embassy in Stockholm, Sweden.
An area around the object was cordoned off and “the device was destroyed by national deminers.
According to the Swedish tabloids Expressen and Aftonbladet, it was a hand grenade.
The device was reportedly launched over the fence surrounding the mission before landing near the building.
According to Swedish police, the device was activated.
Forensic investigators went to the site to find possible traces and recover surveillance images in the area.
“Today we were victims of an attempted attack against the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm and its employees,” Israeli Ambassador to Sweden Ziv Nevo Kulman wrote on X, adding: “ We will not be intimidated by terror.
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Today we were subject to an attempted attack against the Embassy of Israel in Stockholm and its employees.
We thank the Swedish authorities for their swift response.
We will not be intimidated by terror.
— Ziv Nevo Kulman 🇮🇱🎗️ (@zivnk) January 31, 2024
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson described the situation as “very serious”.
“An attempted attack on an embassy is an attack both on those who work there and on Sweden,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Under eftermiddagen hitstades ett farligt föremål vid Israels embassy in Stockholm.
Polisen kunde förstöra föremålet.
Detta är mycket allvarligt.
Ett försök till attack mot en embassy är en attack både mot dem som verkar där och mot Sverige.
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— SwedishPM (@SwedishPM) January 31, 2024
At the end of October, the Swedish government pledged $1 million to strengthen the security of Jewish institutions and congregations, following the rise in anti-Semitism in the wake of the war between Israel and Hamas.
Over the two months following the start of the war between Israel and the Palestinian movement Hamas, 120 complaints for inciting anti-Semitic hatred were recorded in Sweden, according to police figures.
In early December, the Swedish Prime Minister and members of his government took part in a march against anti-Semitism in central Stockholm.
The leader said he was “very concerned that anti-Semitism is spreading in Sweden and other European countries.”