Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed comments made by Sweden’s Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom who has accused Israel of ‘’extrajudicial killings’’ and of ‘’using disproportionate force’’ in response to the current wave of terrorism.

Netanyahu condemned the comments, calling them “scandalous” and said that “apparently the Swedish minister expects Israelis to present their necks to those who want to stab them.

‘’That will not happen; we will continue to protect the lives of Israeli citizens,’’ he said.

According Swedish newspaper Expressen, Wallstrom – who has triggered several diplomatic incidents with Israel since taking up her post in October 2014 – was asked in the Swedish parliament by Liberal MP Mathias Sundin why she has not condemned in strong terms the recent wave of terrorism in Israel.

Wallstrom, a former European Commissioner, said that the attacks were “terrible” and “must not happen,” and added that Israel has “the right to defend itself.”

But then she went on to say that the response cannot be “extrajudicial executions” or a reaction that is “disproportionate” so that the “numbers of dead on the other side” is several times greater.

Israel’s Ambassador to Sweden Isaac Bachman immediately responded, telling the newspaper that “to focus on the actions terrorism victims take in self-defense only serves to draw attention away from the horrors of terrorism. Instead, we should condemn and act to stop the perpetrators, the financiers and the inciters of terrorism.”

Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely said in a radio interview that she and Netanyahu, who is acting Foreign Mminister, would convene a meeting on Sunday to decide what she anticipated would be a "sharp response" to Wallstrom's comments.

Hotovely hinted at a possible exclusion of Sweden from Israeli efforts to revive peace efforts with the Palestinians.

"Sweden has crossed all red lines in relations with Israel," Hotovely said. "This is defamation of Israel and the statements are distancing Sweden from the ranks of enlightened nations that can take part in the dialogue about rights in the region."

A spokesman for Sweden's foreign ministry on Sunday denied that Wallstrom had accused Israel of conducting extra-judicial executions, describing her remarks as "a general statement".