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ABSTRACT
Norway’s ambiguous approach towards Israel and Palestine can be traced back to the 1940s when it was the most pro-Israeli of the three Nordic countries. Since then, there has been a change in perceptions of Israel amongst the Norwegian public and at the official government level. The article follows this change through four crucial phases: the first focuses on the period 1978 up until 1993; the second highlights the Oslo Accords period; the third elucidates the Second Intifada phase and the fourth concentrates on the time of the Gaza war of 2014 up to this day. While Middle East events influenced Norwegian public opinion vis-à-vis Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territory, policies of Norwegian governments throughout these periods did not necessarily reflect public opinion. Nowadays, the Norwegian government continues to enhance its economic relations with Israel, in spite of the more pro-Palestinian stance amongst the general public in Norway.
Acknowledgements
The author wishes to thank the following colleagues who were consulted during the writing of this contribution: Hilde Henriksen Waage, Iver Neumann, Are Hovdenak, Line Khateeb, Egil Bjørnsen, Elin Maria Fiane, Tora Systad Tyssen, Jon Hanssen-Bauer, Mark Taylor, Hilde Berg-Hansen, Henrik Thune, Mari Salberg, Ada Elisabeth Nissen, Jørgen Jensehaugen, Nils A Butenschøn, Dag Henrik Tuastad, Marte Heianengdal, Jon Pedersen and Jonas Finnanger.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes on contributor
Michelle Pace is Professor with special responsibilities at Roskilde University, Denmark and Honorary Professor in Politics and International Studies at the University of Birmingham, UK. Her forthcoming monograph on The Palestinian Authority in the West Bank: The Theatrics of Woeful Statecraft will be published in Spring 2019 in the Routledge Studies in Middle Eastern Democratization and Government series.
Notes
1 Author communications with Jørgen Jensehaugen, 7th June 2018.
2 Discussions held by the author with Iver B Neumann and with Are Hovdenak, 6th June 2018. See also Andersen and Bjørklund (Citation1990).