JERUSALEM, Aug 8, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz
said on Thursday 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.

Norway has long been a facilitator in the Middle East peace process,
particularly leading to the 1993 Oslo Accords, and it swifty 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-a-vis the Palestinian
Authority," which has partial administrative power in the Israeli-occupied
West Bank.

"There is a price for anti-Israel behaviour," 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-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 10 months ago.

In May, Israel had ordered Spain's consulate in Jerusalem to stop offering
consular services to Palestinians from the occupied West Bank from June 1, 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, which Israel's government opposes.

Recognition by the three countries brought to 146 the number of UN member
states recognising a Palestinian state.

- 'Extreme action' -

Norway on August 5 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).

The agency provides more assistance in education, relief and development in
Gaza than any other organisation, but Israel has alleged UNRWA employs
hundreds of "terrorists" among its thousands of Gaza employees.

"This is an extreme action that first and foremost affects our ability to
help the Palestinian population", Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide
said in a statement following Katz's announcement.

"We are considering what measures Norway will take to respond to the
situation that the (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu government has now
created", the statement added.

Norway hosted secret Israeli-Palestinian talks in the Norwegian capital that
led to the Oslo Accords signed in Washington in 1993.

They established a limited degree of Palestinian self-rule, and were intended
as an interim measure that would lead to Palestinian statehood, but talks
tapered off.

Foreign leaders have warned that the expansion of Israeli settlements,
considered illegal by the international community, threatens the viability of
a Palestinian state.