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Norway believes that Israel is violating international law in its war against Hamas.
– We say this as a friend to Israel, says Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide to Aftonbladet.
As the only country in the Nordics, the country demands an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.
The fighting between Israel and Hamas is in its fourth week. The situation in Gaza is becoming increasingly desperate for the civilian population and the UN is now warning that it has reached a “catastrophic tipping point”.
During Tuesday and Wednesday, the Israeli military carried out airstrikes against Gaza’s largest refugee camp, Jabalia, where 116,000 people live. At least 130 people are said to have been killed and several hundred injured.
According to Israel, they killed a large number of Hamas soldiers and knocked out a command center belonging to the terrorist group in the area.
But the attacks have provoked strong reactions. The UN has condemned them and says it is “concerned that these are disproportionate attacks”.
“Would say the same to Sweden”
Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide does not want to comment specifically on the attacks on the refugee camp. But based on the pictures, videos and reports coming from Gaza, Norway believes that Israel is violating international law in its war against Hamas.
– The sum of this is clear enough for us to be able to clearly say that Israel has not acted in accordance with international international law. We say it as a friend to Israel and would say the same to Sweden if it were so, he says when Aftonbladet interviews him at the Nordic Council meeting in Oslo.
He emphasizes that warring parties must avoid unnecessary civilian casualties as far as possible and “limit them to a minimum”.
– Sometimes you have to refrain from attacking a military target because the civilian costs are too great, he says.
The Nordic countries split
On Wednesday, the Nordic foreign ministers met at the Nordic Council meeting in the Norwegian Parliament. There they announced that they had agreed that they wanted to see a “humanitarian pause” in the fighting.
But Norway goes a step further and calls for an immediate ceasefire, something that it was the only Nordic country to vote for in a UN resolution last Friday.
– I think it is important to show that we in the West do not have different standards. When we criticize Russia for abuses in Ukraine, we have a moral and legal right to do so. We have to apply the same standard here and here I think Israel is going too far.
Billström: The situation in Gaza deeply worrying
During the press conference, Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen reminded that Hamas uses civilians as human shields and does not respect the laws of war.
Foreign Minister Tobias Billström (M) emphasizes that Israel, like all parties to war, must respect humanitarian law. He does not want to comment on whether the country does it or not.
– We emphasize from the Swedish government’s side that the situation in Gaza is deeply worrying. Here there is a need to de-escalate and emphasize that everyone must stay within international law, he tells Aftonbladet.
According to Billström, Hamas has the main responsibility for the difficult situation that civilians face in Gaza. A de-escalation of the war can only happen when Hamas releases the more than 200 people that the terror-labelled group is holding hostage inside Gaza.
– In that way, you will get a de-escalation and that opens the way for a break in the fighting.