Israel expels 8 Norwegian diplomats over Palestine spat 

Israel has revoked the diplomatic status of several Norwegian diplomats, further straining the relationship between the two countries, which has been deteriorating since Norway recognized the state of Palestine in May.

On Thursday, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on X that he revoked the accreditation of eight Norwegian diplomats who had been working in Norway’s representative office to the Palestinian Authority.

“This is an extreme act that primarily affects our ability to help the Palestinian population,” Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eid said in a statement. “It shows once again that the Netanyahu government actively opposes the work for a two-state solution.”

EU High Representative Josep Borrell said in a statement that the move against Norway was “unwarranted.”

Katz accused Norway of pursuing a one-sided policy. “Norway chose to reward Hamas murderers and rapists by recognizing a Palestinian state,” he said.

The dispute also involves the International Criminal Court (ICC) court case against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and three senior Hamas leaders. The court’s prosecutor Karim Khan issued arrest warrants against the five men over allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Norway is among the states that have joined the lawsuit, which Katz criticized as “baseless.”

Norway is not the only European country to have diplomatic tensions with Israel.

Spain and Ireland also recognized the state of Palestine this year. Slovenia has established diplomatic relations, while Belgium discussed the matter extensively, according to Belgian media.

EU High Representative Josep Borrell said that the move against Norway was “unwarranted.” | Nhac Nguyen/Getty Images

The ambassadors of all these countries — Slovenia, Spain, Norway, Ireland, and Belgium — were called for a “reprimand conversation” at least once by Israeli authorities since making their efforts public.

In Dublin, an Irish diplomatic official told POLITICO that its embassy in Tel Aviv and representative office in Ramallah were braced for potential punitive action by Israel. But it had not been informed it could face the same or similar treatment to Norway.

The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak on the record, declined to speculate on potential Israeli actions but did express hope that Irish work in the West Bank, particularly in coordinating ongoing work by the state overseas development agency Irish Aid, would not be disrupted.

Ireland opened official diplomatic relations in Ramallah with the Palestinian Authority in 2000 and currently maintains a nine-member office there headed since 2022 by Feilim McLaughlin, Ireland’s former ambassador to India.

As part of its decision to recognize Palestinian statehood, Irish Foreign Minister Micheál Martin has said Ireland would upgrade its Ramallah office to an embassy and appoint an ambassador. But two months later, neither step has been taken yet.

Spain has had a similar — yet different — spat compared to Norway.

In May, Katz announced he would prohibit the Spanish consulate in East Jerusalem from providing services to Palestinians that live in the West Bank after, among other reasons, Spain recognized the state of Palestine.