Swedish prime minister Ulf Kristersson condemned “an attempted attack” against the Israeli embassy in Stockholm, after an object found outside it was destroyed by the bomb squad on Wednesday.
Police said a “live” device had been found by staff on the embassy premises on Wednesday, calling it “a dangerous object”, although they did not specify what it was.
“This is very serious. An attempted attack on an embassy is an attack both on those who work there and on Sweden,” Kristersson said in a social media post, adding police and Sweden’s security police were investigating “who is or who are responsible”.
The prime minister added that surveillance of the embassy and of Jewish institutions in Sweden had been tightened.
After the area around the object was closed off, the national bomb squad was called to the scene and made the decision to destroy the object. “Our assessment is that it was live,” a police spokesperson said.
Swedish tabloids Expressen and Aftonbladet reported it was a hand grenade, citing unidentified sources, while Aftonbladet said it had been thrown over the fence surrounding the mission and had landed on the ground near the building.
The Israeli ambassador to Sweden, Ziv Nevo Kulman, said the embassy and its employees had been subject to an “attempted attack”.
“We will not be intimidated by terror,” Kulman added.
Sweden’s government in late October pledged 10m kronor ($1m) to increase security at Jewish institutions and congregations, after increased antisemitism in the wake of the Israel-Gaza war.
In early December, Kristersson took part in a march against antisemitism in Stockholm.
Swedish police said at the time they had received 120 reports of antisemitic crimes since the outbreak of the war.
Reuters and Agence France Presse contributed to this report
