On Thursday it was announced that Israel has revoked the diplomatic status of eight Norwegian representatives.
The Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem said the foreign minister Israel Katz Norway had announced that it would revoke the diplomatic status of Norwegian representatives in Israel, who were responsible for the Palestinian territories.
In May, Norway, Spain and Ireland decided to recognize a Palestinian state, something Israel strongly opposes.
“Whoever attacks us and pursues a unilateral policy against us will pay the price,” Katz said.
“Instead of fighting Palestinian terrorism after October 7 and supporting Israel, which is fighting the Iranian axis of evil, Norway has chosen to give the murderers and rapists of Hamas a prize in the form of recognition of a Palestinian state,” Katz continued.
The diplomatic status of the representatives shall be withdrawn within seven days of notification.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide called the Israeli move an “extreme act.” According to a statement from his ministry, Eide said that “Norway is and always will be a friend of Israel.”
Despite this, Norway continues to criticise the occupation, the way the war in the Gaza Strip is being conducted and the suffering the war has caused to the Palestinian civilian population.
The Israeli decision will have consequences for Norway’s relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, Eide added, but he did not say what those consequences would be.
The Palestinian Authority was established on the basis of the so-called Oslo Accords, which Israel and the Palestinians concluded in 1993 after secret talks in the Norwegian capital. The Scandinavian country has played an important role in the region ever since.
