'Israel' rejects Norway FM visit request over recognition of Palestine

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
16 Jul 2024 11:17
2 Shares

Israeli media have reported that the Norwegian Foreign Minister's request was denied by his Israeli counterpart.

Listen

Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide speaks during a press conference in Oslo, Norway, on December 15, 2023. (AFP)

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz rejected a request from Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide to visit "Israel" following Norway's recognition of the Palestinian state.

Israeli Channel 7 reported that the rejection came even before the Norwegian minister contacted Katz, indicating that the Foreign Ministry in Norway tried to coordinate the visit, but the Israeli Foreign Ministry did not respond to the request, which left the Norwegian minister with no choice but to request the visit from Katz, the foreign minister, directly.

According to Katz, Eide has asked several times since May, when Norway, Spain, and Ireland coordinated recognition of a Palestinian state.

He finally approached Katz at last week’s NATO summit in Washington and told him, "We have a lot to discuss," to which the Israeli Foreign Minister responded, “You’ve also done a lot to us."

The European country, alongside Spain and Ireland, recognized Palestine in May. Norway also refused to condemn the Resistance group Hamas and supported the genocide legal case against "Israel" in The Hague.

Barth Eide had also stated that Norway is ready to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits the country in case the International Criminal Court issues a warrant, which it is currently assessing.

The Norwegian prime minister announced earlier that his country firmly believes that the Palestinian state is a fundamental requirement for achieving "lasting peace in the Middle East."

A Bloomberg report in March said that the Norwegian government is advising its enterprises against engaging in trade and economic operations that contribute to the continued existence of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

According to the government, there is a risk that businesses are "contributing to violations of international humanitarian law or human rights" through their financial and business interactions in settlements.