Denmark’s Foreign Minister, Martin Lidegaard, told reporters from the Danish daily Jyllands-Posten yesterday that if Israel fails to capitulate to Hamas’ demands in the Gaza Strip it should be hit with trade sanctions and other measures.
The statements come as Israel begins a fresh round of indirect negotiations with Hamas in Cairo in an effort to avert a future conflict between the two sides. Hamas has said conflict is certain if its demands are not met.
In a classic example of negotiating while looking down a gun barrel, the Jewish State is being forced by world pressure to entertain negotiations under ridiculous conditions. Its “negotiating partner” is saying, “here are are demands, which are non-negotiable; if you don’t meet them we’ll fire rockets on your cities.”
The European Jewish Press reported Lidegaard as saying, “If we don’t see a new pattern of response from Israel’s side, then we will need to discuss the possibility of taking new steps, including changes to our trade relations with Israel. I hope that it will not go that far, but I think that EU policy is heading in that direction.”
Perhaps the Danish Foreign Minister wishes for America and its allies to take the same negotiating position with ISIS in Iraq and Syria as it rampages through huge swathes of land, killing any ethnic minorities which stand in its path.
Danish Trade Minister Mogens Jensen told the publication when asked for comment that it was too early at this stage to impose sanctions and that the initiative would not provide international support for them at the moment. “I don’t think that it makes sense for Denmark to go it alone, because then it will have no effect,” he said.
When Emmanuel Nahshon from Israel’s Foreign Ministry was asked to comment on Lidegaard’s comments, he said that the Danish minister, “is mistaken, and does not understand the situation in full. When he comes to visit in Israel, he will certainly be able to understand the reality of the situation and see that Israel is not responsible for the stalemate.”
Lidegaard’s comments come as little surprise, after all, he is a member of Denmark’s Social Liberal Party, called in Danish, Det Radikale Venstre , which literally translated means, “The Radical Left.”