Israel’s Foreign Ministry lashed out at the Norwegian government on Tuesday after Oslo blamed Israel Defense Forces troops in Gaza for a “complete breakdown in compliance with international humanitarian law” in a statement marking six months since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.
“Even six months after the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, Norway—the only country among the like-minded countries that still maintains relations with the Hamas terrorist organization—continues its disproportionate and biased position that favors Hamas,” said Jerusalem.
The statement added, “It is shocking that the murders, rapes and other atrocities that the terrorists of Hamas committed did not change the Norwegian government’s position at all and that it still does not consider Hamas to be a terrorist organization.”
According to the Foreign Ministry, Oslo “displays a lack of proportionality and double standards towards the State of Israel, which is doing what every democratic country is supposed to do to protect its citizens.”
The condemnation came three days after Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide issued a statement claiming that Israel’s war against Hamas “undermines security and is highly devastating for both Israelis and Palestinians. And it threatens the stability of the entire Middle East.
“Norway was among the countries that early on warned Israel against going too far. Now, six months later, it is tragic that far too little is done to distinguish between civilians and combatants,” Oslo’s top diplomat said.
“For six months, Palestinians have lived in what can only be described as hell on earth. More than 33,000 Palestinians have been killed, more than 13,000 of them children,” Eide argued. “Day after day, people in Gaza have witnessed families destroyed, entire neighborhoods razed to the ground and an unimaginable number of people inflicted with the most horrific injuries. Injuries they will live with for the rest of their lives.”
Israel on Sunday marked six months since thousands of Hamas terrorists invaded the Jewish state from the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people and wounding thousands more. More than 250 Israeli citizens and foreign nationals were taken back to Gaza as hostages.
While Norway and Israel initially enjoyed friendly ties, the Nordic nation has grown increasingly hostile over the past two decades. In 2007, Oslo was one of the few Western countries to recognize the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority unity government formed that year.
According to Hebrew reports, Israel and Norway are currently facing the most acute crisis in the 75-year-long history of their diplomatic relations.
Norway is the only country in Europe that has not officially designated Hamas as a terror organization, and Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre has repeatedly offered to host “peace talks” to bring about an end to the war in Gaza, including in the immediate days following the Oct. 7 massacre.
In December, it was reported that Oslo’s Foreign Ministry instructed the King of Norway, Harald V, to refrain from sending official condolences to Israel for the Oct. 7 attacks “in light of the political nature of the conflict.”