Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Thursday that the diplomatic status of Norwegian envoys to the Palestinian Authority would be revoked over Oslo’s “anti-Israel behaviour” since the Gaza war began in October.
“I ordered the termination of any representation on behalf of the Norwegian Embassy in Israel vis-a-vis the Palestinian Authority”, Katz said in a statement.
“There is a price for anti-Israel behaviour,” the top diplomat added, 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-a-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, now in its 11th month.
In May, Israel had ordered Spain’s consulate in Jerusalem to stop offering consular services to Palestinians from June 1, as a “punitive” measure for Madrid’s recognition of a Palestinian state, Katz said at the time.
Spain, Ireland and Norway had earlier announced their decision to recognise a Palestinian state, drawing a strong rebuke from Israel whose leaders have repeatedly spoken out against Palestinian statehood.