Dozens of countries have recognized a Palestinian state, but Norway’s announcement on Wednesday is significant because it hosted the 1993 secret conference that culminated in the Oslo Accords, a peace framework that comes close to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. . ultimately failed.
Norway calls itself a friend of Israel and the two countries have long-standing relations. But since Israel launched a military offensive into Gaza on October 7 in response to Hamas-led attacks, Norway has also severely condemned Israel’s war actions.
Norway’s foreign minister said in March that “Israel’s use of force has a disproportionate impact on civilians and is inconsistent with international humanitarian law” and called for a ceasefire.
Norway also continues to provide funding to UNRWA, the main U.N. agency helping Palestinian refugees, and others after Israel accused about a dozen UNRWA employees of involvement in the Oct. 7 attack. Several countries stopped funding UNRWA.
In February, Norway testified in court international court of justicenoting that Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem are one of the biggest obstacles to peace in the region.
The Oslo Accords were landmark agreements that included mutual recognition between the Israeli government and the Palestinian leadership, who were able to return from exile to the occupied territories. The deal also established the Palestinian Authority, a temporary body that exercises limited Palestinian autonomy in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
In 2000, negotiations continued on a permanent peace treaty to establish an independent Palestinian state with Israel, but ultimately derailed by the Second Palestinian Intifada and Israel’s military crackdown.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gall Storr said on Wednesday that “recognizing Palestine is supporting moderate forces on the defensive in a long and terrible conflict.”
He called the recognition “an investment in the only solution that can achieve lasting peace in the Middle East” and urged other countries to follow suit “so that the process of a two-state solution can finally begin anew.”
