After Katz nixes FM visit, Norway says still seeking dialogue and contact with Israel

Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter

Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide talks to media as he arrives to attend an informal meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs at Czernin Palace in Prague, Czech Republic on May 31, 2024. (Michal Cizek / AFP)
Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide talks to media as he arrives to attend an informal meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs at Czernin Palace in Prague, Czech Republic on May 31, 2024. (Michal Cizek / AFP)

After Foreign Minister Israel Katz revealed that he rejected multiple requests from his Norwegian counterpart to visit Israel, Oslo says that “Norway seeks dialogue and engagement and maintains ongoing contact with Israel on multiple levels.”

“In the context of an upcoming visit to the region, Foreign Minister [Espen Barth] Eide, had proposed a meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Katz,” says Eide’s spokeswoman Mariken Bruusgaard Harbitz. “We understand that Minister Katz is not ready for this meeting now.”

“We will continue to engage other interlocutors in both Israel and Palestine, as all perspectives on the current dramatic situation should be heard.”

Katz pointed to Norway’s recognition of a Palestinian state, failure to list Hamas as a terrorist organization, and backing of the case against Israel at The Hague for his refusal to let Eide into the country on an official visit.

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