Norway said Thursday it had summoned an Israeli embassy official to protest Israel’s decision to revoke the diplomatic status of Norwegian envoys to the Palestinian Authority.
“A short while ago, I summoned Israel’s representative to Norway and met her at the foreign ministry to protest against this decision. The Norwegian government is now evaluating what other measures we will take,” Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide told a press conference.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz earlier the same day revoked the diplomatic status of Norwegian envoys to the Palestinian Authority over Oslo’s “anti-Israel behavior” since the Gaza war began in October.
Norway has long been a facilitator in the Middle East peace process, particularly leading to the 1993 Oslo Accords, and it swiftly reacted to Katz’s announcement, which Oslo said “will have consequences.”
The Israeli minister said he “ordered the termination of any representation on behalf of the Norwegian Embassy in Israel vis-à-vis the Palestinian Authority,” which has partial administrative power in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
“There is a price for anti-Israel behavior,” Katz added in a statement, citing Norway’s recent recognition of a Palestinian state and backing of a pending International Criminal Court case implicating Israeli leaders in alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
A separate statement mentioned “serious statements by senior Norwegian officials” that the foreign ministry viewed as anti-Israeli.
The ministry statement said it would revoke the diplomatic status of “eight Norwegian diplomats… whose duties were to represent Norway vis-à-vis the Palestinian Authority.”
In an official note delivered Thursday to the Norwegian embassy in Tel Aviv, the Israeli foreign ministry said the envoys’ diplomatic status “shall be revoked seven days after the date of this note.”
The note accused Norway of “one-sided policies and statements” since the October 7 attack on Israel by Palestinian militant group Hamas that sparked the war in the Gaza Strip 10 months ago.
The United States criticized ally Israel for revoking the diplomatic status of Norwegian envoys, saying Oslo has played an important role in the Middle East.
“We don’t think steps to prevent them from playing that role are particularly helpful,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell criticized Israel’s “unwarranted” move stating that he strongly condemns “this unwarranted decision, which contradicts the spirit of Oslo Accords and disproportionately disrupts the normal relations and cooperation with the Palestinian Authority.”
On August 5, Norway ruled that the International Criminal Court had jurisdiction over Palestinian territories and that it should go ahead with proceedings in its case for arrest warrants against Israeli and Hamas leaders over the Gaza war.
In June, Norway announced it would increase its funding to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) by 100 million kroner ($9.3 million).
With AFP
