Norwegian foreign minister Jonas Gahr Støre (the first Norwegian FM to have anything approaching foreign policy credentials in years) has recently "clarified" that Norway - presumably in concert with other Nordic countries - intend to "also" make demands of Israel. Specifically, he says that Norway expects Israel to:
- Cease and desist from building the "separation wall" [sic] into "Palestinian" territories
- Stop settlements on the "Palestinian" side
- Refrain from use of violence ("applies to both sides")
- Seek negotiation solutions that move the peace process forward ("applies to both sides")
Støre also thinks that the Palestinians should refrain from violence and accept Israel's right to exist, but says he has every intention of continuing the "cooperation" with Palestinian authorities.
Part of the context for this "clarification" is that there have been mutterings that Erik Solheim and Støre differed on this issue, and Støre apparently felt the need to signal unity within the Norwegian foreign ministry.
But this raises a couple of questions:
- Since when did Norway ever make demands of the Palestinians? And when did Norway ever not make demands of Israel? In other words, does the term "also" have any meaning in this context?
- What does "violence" mean, exactly? Does Støre think that Israelis have a right to defend themselves? Would it have been an act of violence if an Israeli policeman had shot and killed Sami Salim Mohammed Hammed in Tel Aviv today before he got a chance to blow up his bomb?
- Does Støre really intend to "cooperate" with and financially support a regime that supports terrorist bombings, iterates again and again its opposition to Israel's existence, and plans to implement a totalitarian theocracy in its areas? If that is so, there are a couple of other nasty regimes that should get in line for Norwegian support.
- It would also be good if Støre could once and for all clarify:
- Accepting the premise that the West Bank is occupied (for which there is no basis in international law, but never mind), what responsibilities and rights does Israel actually have?
- What would constitute reasonable and legal measures of self-defense for Israel? It seems that since everything Israel does meets with criticism and condemnation by know-it-all Nordic types, what they're left with is the right to be killed brutally.
- And for that matter, what would constitute unacceptable behavior among the Palestinians? It seems that no matter what radical groups there do, the PNA is never expected to do anything about it.
Støre is probably a smart guy who knows precisely why I'm asking these questions and would give me very different answers in private than he would in public.
But the problem is that the political climate in the Nordic countries, and indeed Europe as a whole, is so contaminated by anti-Israeli venom that it's impossible to say anything remotely supportive to Israel without paying a heavy political price.
And that, is something very few Norwegian politicians have the courage to do.
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