Israel FM Katz rejects Norwegian counterpart's visit request over Palestine recognition

Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz has said he turned down Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide's request to visit Israel after his country recognised the State of Palestine.

In May, Spain, Ireland and Norway officially recognised Palestine as a state. Shortly after the announcement, Israel recalled its ambassadors.

Katz said Eide had requested several times to visit since then.

The Israeli minister said Norway's refusal to designate Hamas as a terror organisation and its support for South Africa's genocide case against Israel were also reasons why he turned Norway down.

The Norwegian diplomat will also be unable to visit the Palestinian Authority until Israel grants permission.

In May, Israel summoned the ambassadors of Norway, Spain and Ireland to show previously unaired footage of the  7 October attacks by Hamas. Katz said at the time that the video would be shown as a part of a formal diplomatic protest known as a "severe demarche".

Ireland's deputy minister slammed Israel over the reprimand.

Norway has long maintained a pro-Palestine stance, having hosted the Oslo Accords in the 1990s —  the first direct Palestinian-Israeli peace agreement, which ultimately failed.

Amid Israel's war on Gaza, Norway has maintained support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and increased its funding for the agency despite Israeli claims against the body.

Norway also supports the Arab Peace Initiative, which promotes Israeli normalisation in exchange for an end to the occupation and a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Norway, Spain, and Ireland to formally recognise Palestine as a stat