Norway’s foreign minister denounces “extreme act”, saying it will affect country’s ability to help Palestinian people.
Israel has revoked the diplomatic status of eight Norwegian diplomats serving in the occupied Palestinian territory.
“Anti-Israeli behavior has a price,” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Thursday, citing Norway’s recognition of Palestinian statehood and its support for a case at the International Criminal Court (ICC) implicating Israeli leaders in alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity as reasons for the move.
The Norwegian ambassador was summoned to the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem on Thursday, where he was informed that the diplomats, all based in Tel Aviv, would have their accreditation revoked in seven days and their visas cancelled in three months.
“This is an extreme act that primarily affects our ability to help the Palestinian people,” Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said in a statement, warning that the decision would have “consequences” for its relations with the Israeli government.
Norway is still considering its response to the situation.
The United States said the move was counterproductive and thwarted Norwegian efforts to encourage cooperation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA).
“Norway has a long history of playing a productive role in its relations with the Israeli government and with the Palestinian Authority,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters Thursday.
“We don’t think that measures to prevent them from playing that role are particularly helpful,” he added.
Joseph Borrell, the European Union’s (EU) foreign policy chief, also issued a statement condemning the decision and offering “full solidarity” with Norway.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Thursday citing “serious statements by senior Norwegian officials” that were considered anti-Israeli.
In an official note delivered to the Norwegian embassy in Tel Aviv, the ministry also accused Norway of “unilateral policies and statements” since the Hamas attack on October 7 in southern Israel, which preceded the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip.
Spain, Ireland and Norway announced their decision to recognize a Palestinian state last May, drawing a sharp rebuke from Israel, whose leaders have repeatedly spoken out against the creation of a Palestinian state.
Israel reacted furiously, accusing the three countries of “rewarding terrorism” and immediately recalling its ambassadors to Ireland, Norway and Spain.
It also ordered the Spanish consulate in Jerusalem to stop offering consular services to Palestinians from June 1, with Katz saying at the time that it was a “punitive” measure.
In May, ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan requested arrest warrants for senior Israeli and Hamas leaders for alleged war crimes.
Khan announced that his office had “reasonable grounds” to believe that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant bore “criminal responsibility” for “war crimes and crimes against humanity.”