Just in case somebody had missed the latest proof of Norway’s unilateral approach in ME conflict:
Palestinian PM, Norway decry Israeli fund freeze
Fayyad says taxes, fees Israel collects for PA ‘our money’; Norwegian PM says freeze ‘amounts to waterboarding an economy’
The Palestinian Authority is “fast approaching the point of being completely incapacitated” by Israel’s refusal to hand over tax revenues belonging to the authority, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said.
Israel’s freeze on the taxes and fees it collects for the Palestinian Authority at borders has deprived the government of two-thirds of its normal revenue since Nov. 1, making it hard to pay salaries and fix infrastructure, Fayyad said.
“This is our money,” he said. “It has nothing to do with donor assistance or anything like that.”
He spoke at a press conference alongside Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere, who demanded an end to the policy that Israel imposed a day after the UN cultural agency UNESCO granted full membership to the Palestinians.
“It amounts to waterboarding an economy,” Stoere said, “because you almost kill it while allowing a small amount of air to come in.”
Israel has called the withholding of funds “temporary” and complained the Palestinians were unwilling to open direct peace talks, while Palestinian leaders have said they would talk only if Israel halts settlement activity in areas it occupies.
Fayyad said the frozen funds amount to some $100 million per month, or two-thirds of the Palestinian Authority’s revenue stream excluding international aid.
He spoke shortly after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met in Cairo with Khaled Mashaal, exiled leader of the radical Hamas movement, which rules the Gaza strip.
Fayyad reiterated that he was willing to step down if it would help heal divisions between the rival factions and pave the way for presidential and parliamentary elections. Hamas has rejected him as head of a joint government.
Norway chairs a committee of aid donors to the Palestinian Authority, including the United States, Israel and the European Union.
One regular reader sent me this short analysis on the two faces of Støre:
1. Støre was one of the main supporters, if not instigators, to make Abbas go to the UN. He went to Netanyahu and threatened (a year ago – it was in the papers) that unless Israel got going with some real peace talks Norway would support the declaration of a Palestinian state. Aftenposten had an editorial this summer that “we” consider these steps to be the “wise” way to go. There seems to have been a Norwegian political/media consensus that this strategy was correct. The whole thing misfired and most political analysts internationally (also in Sweden, who voted against) judged the mission as a failure and a serious error.
2. This “backfiring” must have been very frustrating to Støre personally, since with this initiative aimed for the sky but managed only to hit cowpats with the resulting unpleasant smells and revealing spots.
3. Palestinian authority has not recognized the state of Israel yet? They broke the agreement to negotiate and tried to blackmail Israel using the UN.
4. Støre has not thrashed Syria in media or calling a separate press conference on the blood shed there, on the contrary his only official statement was that he doesn’t want to request the resignation of Assad because there no ready-made alternative to take over. In contrast, while being almost apologetic over Syria’s bloody slaughter of its own people, our PM chooses to accuse Israel of water boarding the PA economy, when it is the PA itself that flagrantly has broken the terms of the Oslo Accords.
5. His emotional hate statement against Israel (also his erroneous jugdement of the flotilla) is bound to further lower the threshold for hate crime against Jews in Norway. However, the leader of the Labor Party Youth Movement accuses the Progress party of hate speech against the Muslims, relating this to the 22/7 tragedy.
6. Støre has not issued similar denouncements of Gadaffi, Mubarak, or Ahmadinejad in Norwegian press. His one sided bashing of Israel is anti-Semitic by the definitions of EU, UN and the US.
I say our pinheaded PM needs to question himself why he always uses the Jews (euphemistically called the Israelis) as a whipping boy. Maybe he should take up a hobby, such a knitting or something that could calm his fevered mind.
Alternatively, since it is Christmas, can’t he just make a colorful Christmas calendar and stuff it full of Norwegian foreign aid money? These monies are anyway being misspent in Haiti, where the lions part of our money goes toward funding the army.
If Israel continues to have diplomatic relations with Norway, if she continues to allow Norway’s Communist/Nazi propagandists in the country, if Norway has trade relations with Norway after all this Nazi garbage, then Israel is too weak and cannot ultimately survive.
How is Israel going to stand up to suicidal, frothing, psychotic Islamonazi savages in Hamas and Hezbollah when she won’t even stand up to a bunch of effeminate Marxist dhimmis in Norway?
Well, there are other interpretations.
After all, if I had set up poor Abbas to this flop, then I’d be pretty down too. So, with Fayed coming here, he’d have to “give him something”, no ?
Or maybe he really believes he holds the one truth. He’s the teacher, Israel is the illbehaved pupil. Now pay attention ! A narcscsss…how do you spell that ?
Giving up on Norway is not sensible. Just think of Nazi Germany and Adenauer`s Germany only few years later. I have never seen anyehere the extent of repentence and shame I saw from many Germans throughout the years (admittedly it has declined in the last decade). I am sure, as the Prof (who lives there) said, that many Norwegians even now are sceptical of the governnment attitude. There is in Norway, as in those times in Germany, heavy brainwashing going on, with Israel demonized out of all proprtions, and it has its effect on people there. But it will not last simply because it makes no sense. Reality wins in the end. Just an example from these days. I am just back from Greece. In previous visits mentioning that I am from israel was not a pleasent experience given what followed. Now I hastened to say that because it brought only warmth and friendliness. That`s life and that`s history.
It is only a matter of time before Støre and the rest of the Israel haters that congest the Norwegian elite are disavowed by the Norwegian people, after the people grow tired of how 22/7 is politicized and again focus on what occurs in the society on a daily basis.
That said, the anti-Israel animus of these elites is blatant, and in such blatancy becomes antisemitic. They are just too insulated to even have a conception of the abhorrence of their behavior.
Narcissist.
I tend to agree with this interpretation!
spot on!
Cosmop, the situation in Greece was bad enough. However, the situation today in Norwayis far worse. Greece could only help the Arabs to a very small extent. Norway due to 1/ it’s financial security with masses of rax payer’s money to Israel’s enemies and 2/ Norway’s self perception as a humanitarian country to all (except Israel) is a different case entirely.
I agree with Eric R. that Israel should have cut all ties with Norway many years ago. Norway is an enemy of Israel. Why? The expression of “My enemy’s enemy is my friend.” This suits the aRabs fine. But, surely my enemy’s friend is also my enemy?
I have written a number of times to the Israel Foreign Ministry advising them to cut all missions with Norway. This will not lead to any improvement or deterioration for Israel. But, it will effect Norway’s situation drastically as an innocent neutral bystander.
Interestingly, and almost as a malapropos for the Norwegian PM…, reading the Jerusalem post, there is a story on how PM Netanyahu suggests how ties with some Arab countries are mildly improving – in all likelihood related to the threat Iran poses to the whole region.
But it would be quite ironic if Norway would be the only one sleeping with Abbas, who now is sucking up to Hamas, while the rest of the region are worried about the expansion of Iranian influence.
Fools rush in, where angels fear to tread … FM Støre is an incompetent, ignorant (nay, clueless!) fawner, an “other-fetishizer” par excellence. Nothing is going to penetrate that thick skull.
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“I have written a number of times to the Israel Foreign Ministry advising them to cut all missions with Norway.”
You too, eh? (Well, I’ve only written twice.)
Maybe I should try their Ambassador to the US, Michael Oren [a fellow New Jerseyan...
]
Cosmop:
” Just an example from these days. I am just back from Greece. In previous visits mentioning that I am from israel was not a pleasent experience given what followed. Now I hastened to say that because it brought only warmth and friendliness.”
Amazing what a little natural gas and some mad Turks will do to improve your image…
Please do Eric R. Not enough pressure is put on Israel to take a more aggressive stance with it’s version of events and its achievements.
I placed the previous Labour MP of my town with questions and statements that she was unable to respond positively to. She had broadcasted a prepared anti Israel speech on radio, which I reminded her. I did this in public and gave her a short factual correction of her ideas. She was there for a photo shoot, instead, she ran off unable to answer to the bemusement of the public.
I did the same with the Labour leader of the Council in the market square. I could go on, but I believe you understand what I am suggesting to you and others.
Martin and Eric
Maybe you should start by making Israel Ministry of Foreign
Affairs aware of NIJ?
A few months ago my telephone call happened to interrupt
a consular meeting at the embassy of Israel in Oslo.
The fresh diplomat did not know of NIJ!
Scary.
Some time ago, I made the Israeli MFA aware of NIJ and MIFF.
Perhaps ab, a Norwegian ought to call the embassy and make them aware.
I appreciate Norway is not particularly important country. However,considering the disastrous damage the Oslo Accords caused Israel, someone there needs to be made aware.