Norway says it’s ‘regrettable’ that Israel won’t ‘engage constructively’ in recognizing Palestinian state

PA Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, left, speaks after receiving a document handed over by Norway's Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide, right, prior to a meeting for talks on the Middle East in Brussels, May 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
PA Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, left, speaks after receiving a document handed over by Norway's Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide, right, prior to a meeting for talks on the Middle East in Brussels, May 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide says in a statement that “for more than 30 years, Norway has been one of the strongest advocates for a Palestinian state.”

“Today, when Norway officially recognizes Palestine as a state, is a milestone in the relationship between Norway and Palestine,” he says.

The Norwegian foreign minister adds that “it is regrettable that the Israeli government shows no signs of engaging constructively.”

Eide on Sunday handed diplomatic papers to the Palestinian Authority’s prime minister, in his country’s latest step toward recognizing a Palestinian state.

Norway, along with Ireland and Spain, is expected to officially recognize a Palestinian state today, after pledging to do so last week in a move that increases Israel’s isolation more than seven months into its war against the Hamas terror group in Gaza.

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