In a note sent to the Norwegian embassy on Thursday, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said their diplomatic status would be “revoked seven days after the date of this note.”
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“Today I ordered the cessation of all representation on behalf of the Norwegian Embassy in Israel to the Palestinian Authority.”said the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs on Thursday, August 8. In a statement, Israel Katz lamented “anti-Israeli behavior” Norway, in particular with the recognition of the State of Palestine, enacted on May 28, as well as Oslo’s participation in legal action against Israeli leaders before the International Criminal Court.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide responded by denouncing a “extreme action” which will have “serious consequences for the government of Benjamin Netanyahu”at the head of a very right-wing government coalition. The Scandinavian leader announced a little later that he had summoned an Israeli representative to Norway to “protest against this decision” and he added that the Scandinavian government “was now evaluating what further steps to take”.
An Israeli order will revoke the diplomatic status of eight Norwegian diplomats working at the embassy in Israel, whose duties were to represent Norway in the Palestinian Authority, according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry. In an official note sent to the Norwegian embassy on Thursday, the ministry said their diplomatic status would be “revoked seven days after the date of this note”.
For its part, the United States, a close ally of Israel, criticized this initiative. Norway “has played an important role for a long time” in dialogue with the Palestinian Authority and Israel, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters. The United States believes that “moves to prevent them from playing that role are not particularly constructive,” he added.
