Norwegian authorities strongly oppose the Israeli government’s latest plans to forcibly move Gaza’s entire population into what would be a closed-off area in the ruins of Rafah. Many fear the area would become a concentration camp that Palestinians would not be able to leave, and the Norwegian government claims that would violate international law.
“We will oppose this in all possible ways,” Andreas Motzfeldt Kravik, state secretary in Norway’s foreign ministry, told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK). “We think a united international community will oppose this as well.”
The relocation plans for Palestinians who’ve survived Israel’s ongoing bombings emerged earlier this week in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. It reported that Israel’s defense minister had asked defense forces to prepare a plan for establishing what he calls a “humanitarian city” in the ruins of the southern border town of Rafah. As many as 600,000 Palestinians would be moved and kept there, many more later.
Kravik said such a project would mean the end of an independent Palestinian state, especially if they’re driven out of Gaza and Israel takes over the coastal region. “We must make it abundantly clear to the Israelis and the Israeli government that such a policy, if carried out, will have serious consequences.”
Norway has long and strongly supported a two-state solution to the war in the Middle East, one for Israel and one for the Palestinians. Norway has been involved in many efforts over the years to achieve peace and got along well with earlier, more liberal Israeli governments. Norway has long been at odds, however, with the increasingly ultra-conservative government led by Benjamin Netanyahu. While condemning a Palestinian attack on Israel nearly two years ago, the Norwegians contend that Israel’s reaction has been excessive, with ongoing bombing of Gaza and the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians including many women and children.
Kravik told NRK that Norwegian authorities have made it clear all along that Israeli policies that defy international law cannot be accepted. “That’s why we also recently sanctioned two Israeli government ministers for the first time,” Bezalel Smotrich who’s in charge of finance and Itamar Ben-Gvir in charge of security. Both have, according to the Jerusalem Post, opposed humanitarian aid into Gaza, advocated replacing a mosque in Jerusalem with a synagogue and expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza.
“We must stand up for the Palestinians’ right to their own state,” Kravik said, “while at the same time making sure Israel has safe borders.” He and many other Norwegian officials contend a two-state solution is “the only way out of this completely inhuman situation.”
Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide repeated this week how he’s “deeply shaken” by “the daily reports” about the killing of civilians in Gaza while they’re trying to acquire food and water for themselves and their families. “The needs in Gaza are bottomless in all areas, but Israel continues to deny UN- and other humanitarian organizations adequate access,” Eide said. He said the Palestinians have lived for the past 21 months under “absolutely terrible conditions, it’s a living nightmare.” On Wednesday he announced that Norway had managed to get 315 people with ties to Norway out of Gaza, three more this past week.
Eide joined others in accusing Israel and the new and highly controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) of violating fundamental humanitarian principles. “It is Norway’s clear standpoint that Israel has an obligation to deliver emergency aid to Palestinians living under occupation,” Eide stated. “The manner in which GHF operates is completely unacceptable.” He also repeated the urgency of a ceasefire and said Norway supports active diplomacy to reach an agreement.
The US, which has been working towards a ceasefire, has meanwhile sanctioned the UN Special Rapporteur and Italian lawyer Francesca Albanese for carrying out her duties in reporting human rights violations. Eide stated this week that it’s “problematic” when any individual country sanctions a UN representative for carrying out a mandate.
Eide didn’t mention either the US, which is among Norway’s most important allies, or Albanese, who has also criticized Norway for allowing its sovereign wealth fund to continue investing in Israeli companies. He claimed any UN special rapporteur has an especially independent role that should be respected. Albanese is now being denied entry into the US (where the UN is based) and any assets she has there are being frozen.
Newspaper Aftenposten, however, editorialized strongly against the US’ sanctions against Albanese after she criticized both Israel and the US, calling them uverdig (disgraceful and beneath the dignity of the US). US Secretary of State Marco Rubio claims Albanese has engaged in warfare against both the US and Israel, accused her of anti-Semitism and of supporting terrorists.
NewsinEnglish.no/Nina Berglund
