Norway is closing its representation in the West Bank after Israel revoked the status of Norwegian diplomats responsible for the Palestinian territories, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote on X on Sunday.
Katz wrote after Oslo’s decision: “We will act against those who act against us.”
The moves come after Norway, Spain and Ireland decided in May to recognise a Palestinian state.
Israel said the eight Norwegian diplomats whose status was revoked were stationed at the Norwegian embassy in Israel but were responsible for contacts with the Palestinian Authority.
“As a result of the Netanyahu government’s decision to no longer facilitate Norway’s representation to the Palestinian Authority, our representation office in Al Ram, Palestine, must be closed as of today,” the Norwegian government said in a statement on Friday.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide criticized the Israeli decision as “extreme and unreasonable”.
He said: “This decision is against the Palestinians, the Palestinian Authority and all those who defend international law, the two-state solution and the legitimate right of the Palestinians to self-determination.”
The Norwegian representative office in Al-Ram on the West Bank, which has been operating for about 30 years, will remain closed until further notice.
Katz said Israel’s decision stemmed from “the recognition of a Palestinian Hamas state after the October 7 massacre and (Norway’s) support for issuing arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials.”
The Palestinian Authority was established on the basis of the Oslo Accords, which Israel and the Palestinians signed in 1993 after secret talks in the Norwegian capital. The Scandinavian country has played an important role in the region ever since.
