The USA announced today that Israel's cancellation of the diplomatic status of Norwegian diplomats in the Palestinian Authority does not represent a constructive measure, AFP reported.
EU High Representative Josep Borelj strongly condemned the Israeli government's decision to revoke the diplomatic status of Norwegian diplomats working with the Palestinian Authority. "Their work is in the interest of everyone who works for peace and stability in the Middle East," he added.
Speaking about that Israeli measure, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that Norway has long played an important role in talks with the Palestinian Authority and Israel, and added that the US considers measures aimed at hindering that role "not particularly constructive."
Miller particularly highlighted Norway's diplomatic role in negotiating the historic Oslo Accords in 1993, signed in the White House garden, and more recently in collecting taxes for the Palestinian Authority.
According to the Israeli order, the diplomatic status of eight Norwegian diplomats working in the Israeli embassy, whose work is related to the Palestinian Authority, will be revoked, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.
The Israeli government cited Norway's recent recognition of the state of Palestine, as well as its participation in legal proceedings against Israeli leaders at the International Criminal Court.
The US says it supports the formation of a Palestinian state, but that it should be at the end of negotiations with Israel.
In a statement transmitted by the European External Affairs Service (EEAS), Borelj said that he "strongly condemns this unjustified decision, which contradicts the spirit of the Oslo Accords and disproportionately disrupts normal relations and cooperation with the Palestinian Authority."
He said he had instructed the head of the EU delegation in Tel Aviv to convey the EU's position to the Israeli government.
"This is not a bilateral issue between Israel and Norway, but an issue of interest to everyone who works for peace and stability in the Middle East," Borelj said in a statement.
He added that Norway, as the chairman of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee, which includes Israel and the Palestinian Authority, has played an important role in the Middle East peace process and in supporting the Palestinian population.
"The EU is fully in solidarity with Norway, an invaluable partner in our efforts to promote peace, security and prosperity in the region," Borelj concluded.
(BETA)
Israel announced today that it is revoking the diplomatic status of the Norwegian staff representing Norway at the Palestinian Authority, pointing to the "anti-Israeli behavior" of Oslo, which for its part condemned the "extreme action" and invited Israel's representative in Norway for an interview.
"Today I ordered the termination of all representations on behalf of the Norwegian Embassy in Israel, vis-à-vis the Palestinian Authority," Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.
He condemned Norway's "anti-Israeli behavior" in relation to the war in Gaza, where Israel has been fighting the Islamist Palestinian Hamas since October 7.
Katz also referred to Norway's recognition of the state of Palestine on May 28, as well as its participation in legal proceedings against Israeli leaders before the International Criminal Court.
In a separate statement, the Israeli ministry pointed to "serious statements by high-ranking Norwegian officials" against Israel.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Bart Eeide reacted by pointing to an "extreme action" that, as he said, "will have serious consequences for the government of (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu."
Eide announced a little later that he called the Israeli representative in Norway to protest the decision, and added that the Norwegian government is now evaluating what other measures it could take.
According to the Israeli order, the diplomatic status of eight Norwegian diplomats working in the embassy in Israel, whose tasks were to represent Norway before the Palestinian Authority, is revoked.
In an official note sent today to the Norwegian embassy, the ministry indicated that their diplomatic status will be revoked seven days from the date of its adoption.
The note expresses condemnation for Oslo's policies and unilateral statements following the Hamas attack on Israel.
At the beginning of August, Oslo reminded that the territorial jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court extends to the Palestinian territories, and assessed that the court should continue the proceedings initiated against the leaders of Israel and Hamas, in connection with the war in Gaza.
In June, Norway announced an increase in funding to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) by 8,7 million euros.
Israel, on the other hand, accuses Hamas of infiltrating UNRWA, the pillar of humanitarian aid in Gaza.
(BETA)
The leader of the Yemeni Houthi rebels reiterated today that there will be revenge for the Israeli attack on the port of Hodeida, which is controlled by his group, and emphasized that such a response is inevitable.
Retaliation for the July 20 attack that targeted installations in the Red Sea port city, in response to a drone strike that killed an Israeli in Tel Aviv, "is inevitable and will happen," Abdel Malek al-Houti said in a televised address.
The Israeli attack on the port, the first of its kind, killed nine people in Yemen and caused about $20 million in damage, according to a port official.
The Houthi leader's statement came amid rising tensions in the Middle East following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, and the assassination of Lebanese Hezbollah military leader Fuad Shoukr in Beirut.
The leader of the Houthi rebels said the time since those events was "pure tactics".
Since November, the Houthis have carried out a series of missile and drone strikes on ships they believe are linked to Israel in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, an important commercial shipping route.
The reduction of maritime traffic is a great victory, the head of the Houthi rebels said today and added that 177 ships have been targeted in that zone to date.
The Houthis also fired rockets at Israeli cities, most of which were intercepted.
The Houthis explain that they are attacking Israel as a sign of solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, where the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist Hamas, triggered by Hamas's attack on Israeli soil on October 7 last year, is being waged.
(BETA)
US Vice President Kamala Harris declined to discuss an arms embargo on Israel during talks with Palestinian activists, Reuters reported, citing an adviser to the Democratic candidate.
The Undecided Movement said late Wednesday that Harris had "expressed her sympathies and indicated a willingness to meet with movement leaders to discuss the arms embargo" while campaigning in Detroit, the aide said.
The adviser, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Harris had not expressed a willingness to discuss the arms embargo. But a campaign spokesman said the vice president told members of the Muslim and Palestinian communities that she would continue to work with them on the war, which has killed nearly 40.000 people in Gaza since last October.
"The vice president has been clear: She will always work to ensure that Israel is able to defend itself against Iran and the terrorist groups that Iran supports. The vice president is focused on securing the ceasefire and hostage deals that are currently on the table," a campaign spokesman said. .
The Israeli military said it had carried out an attack on Thursday in an area where two schools in Gaza were located, claiming they housed Hamas command centers.
The army claims that these centers were used to carry out attacks on Israeli troops.
"A number of steps were taken prior to the attack to minimize the risk of civilian casualties, including the use of precision munitions, surveillance and additional intelligence," the military said in a statement.
"School complexes were used by terrorists and Hamas commanders as command and control centers, from where they planned and carried out attacks against soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces and the State of Israel," added the statement, reports the Guardian.
Israeli strikes have killed at least 25 people in Gaza, Palestinian health workers said. Israeli forces have stepped up attacks across the Gaza Strip, killing at least 25 people, Palestinian medical officials said, in further clashes with Hamas-led militants as Israel prepares for a possible wider war in the region, Reuters reports.
Israeli airstrikes hit a group of houses in the al-Bureij camp in central Gaza, killing at least 15 people, while four people were killed in the nearby al-Nuseirat camp, medics said. Nuseirat and Bureij are among eight historic, densely populated camps in the enclave, which Israel sees as strongholds for armed militants.
Israeli jets also bombed a house in the heart of northern Gaza City, killing five Palestinians, while another airstrike in the southern city of Khan Younis killed one person and wounded others, according to health workers.
The armed wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad said they fired anti-tank rockets and mortar bombs at Israeli forces operating across Gaza, causing deaths and injuries among them.
Israel's military said it hit dozens of military targets across Gaza, including rocket launchers, in the past 24 hours, Reuters reported.
A new report by Human Rights Watch says Israeli soldiers killed at least seven people and seriously wounded two, including a five-year-old child, when they attacked a house in Gaza where a Palestinian family was sheltering in December, the Associated Press reported.
The New York Human Rights Organization released a report on Thursday based on interviews with two members of the Al Khalidi family, who witnessed the attack, and on video footage released by the Israeli military showing the presence of soldiers near the home at the time of the attack.
Family members stated that there were no militants or weapons in the house, and that the family had no ties to any armed group. They said the soldiers swooped in without warning, throwing bombs and opening fire.
Among the dead was a pregnant woman, while a five-year-old child is being treated for serious injuries in Qatar.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, and Human Rights Watch said the military did not respond to detailed questions sent in July.
Israel says it is trying to avoid harming civilians as it seeks to destroy Hamas after the Oct. 7 attacks, which set off an ongoing military offensive. However, Israel's relentless aerial bombardment and ground operations have destroyed entire Palestinian families.
The World Central Kitchen (WCK), a US-based non-governmental organization, said a Palestinian member of its staff was killed in Gaza on Wednesday, four months after seven of its staff were killed in widely condemned Israeli strikes, Reuters reported.
WCK identified the person as Nadi Salouta, saying in a post on the X social network that he had been "an integral member of the warehouse team since the first days of our response in Rafah."
The organization said it was still gathering details about the incident, but believed he was off duty at the time. He was killed near Deir Al Balah in central Gaza, they added.
Three Israeli airstrikes hit a convoy of humanitarian aid vehicles passing through Gaza on 1 April, killing seven WCK personnel, including citizens of the United States, Australia, Britain and Poland.
Israel has denied accusations that it deliberately targeted aid workers.
According to the latest figures from the Gaza Health Ministry, more than 39.699 Palestinians have been killed and 91.722 wounded in the Israeli military offensive in Gaza since October 7.
Western allies are condemning Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's statement that starving more than two million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip "could be just and moral" until hostages captured in last year's Hamas attack on Israel are released.
"In today's world, no one will allow us to starve two million people, even though it might be just and moral until they return the hostages," Smotrich said Monday at a conference in support of Jewish settlements.
Smotrich, a key partner of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, supports the re-occupation of Gaza, the rebuilding of Jewish settlements removed in 2005 and the "voluntary migration" of large numbers of Palestinians from the territory.
On Wednesday, the European Union condemned his statements, saying that "deliberate starvation of civilians is a war crime."
EU High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security Josep Borelj called Smotrich's statement "more than shameful", saying that it "once again shows Smotrich's contempt for international law and the basic principles of humanity".
British Foreign Minister David Lammy wrote on the X social network that "there can be no justification for Minister Smotrich's words. We expect the Israeli government to retract and condemn them."
German Ambassador to Israel Štefen Zibert said that Smotrich's statement was "unacceptable and horrible. The principle of international law and humanity is to protect civilians in war and to provide them with access to water and food."
The ongoing war, sparked by Hamas' attack on southern Israel last October, has plunged Gaza into a humanitarian disaster. The vast majority of its population has been resettled within that territory, and hundreds of thousands live in tents.
Aid organizations say Gaza is at "high risk" of starvation and that the delivery of food and other aid is being hampered by Israeli restrictions, fighting and disruptions to law and order.
Israel claims to allow unlimited humanitarian aid and blames United Nations agencies for poor delivery.
In the ongoing Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, nearly 40.000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, and the devastation is immense.
(BETA)
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