Israel decided on Thursday to strip eight Norwegian diplomats at the representation office for Palestine in the occupied West Bank of their diplomatic status after Norway recognized Palestine.
On Saturday, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein said on X that Norway has been extreme, one-sided and anti-Israel following the attacks by Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, the Houthis and other actors.
– The Norwegian government, which as recently as last week chose to support the groundless case against Israel at the International Criminal Court, recognized a Palestinian state and even today, ten months after the worst massacre against Jews since the Holocaust, refuses to call Hamas a terrorist organisation, has lost Israel’s trust and the special role they played since the Oslo Accords, writes Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
– The extremist policy of the Norwegian government prevents them from being able to continue to be a partner in the talks with Israel on the Palestinian issue, it says further.
Norway said in its submission to the ICC that the Oslo agreements do not prevent the ICC’s jurisdiction when it comes to issuing arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as chief factor Karim Khan requested the criminal court in May. But that does not imply Norwegian support for the case against Israel.
Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide called the Israeli decision an extreme act. He announced countermeasures against Israel, but will not expel Israeli diplomats.
#Israel #longer #trust #Norway
2024-08-12 16:49:52
