Danish prime minister calls Netanyahu “a problem in himself”

Saturday 16 August 2025 - 09:15

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen declared on Saturday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had become “a problem in himself” and vowed to use Denmark’s role in the rotating presidency of the European Union to increase pressure on Israel.

“Netanyahu is now a problem in himself,” Frederiksen told the daily Jyllands-Posten, arguing that his government had gone “too far.”

She condemned what she described as an “absolutely dreadful and catastrophic” humanitarian situation in Gaza, as well as Israel’s new settlement plans in the occupied West Bank. “We are among the countries that want to raise the pressure on Israel, but so far we have not secured the support of other EU members,” she said.

According to Frederiksen, possible measures include “political pressure, sanctions targeting settlers, ministers, or even Israel as a whole,” mentioning trade restrictions or limits on research cooperation.

“We rule nothing out in advance. Just as with Russia, we build sanctions in a way that we believe will have the strongest impact,” she added, while clarifying that Denmark does not plan to recognize the State of Palestine.

The conflict between Israel and Hamas has remained deadly. The Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, killed 1,219 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to official figures compiled by AFP. In response, Israeli military actions in Gaza have caused at least 61,430 deaths, also predominantly civilians, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, whose data is considered reliable by the United Nations.