The Foreign Ministry demanded an explanation Tuesday of remarks by the Norwegian ambassador to Israel, Torleiv Anda, that unfavorably compared the acts of Israeli soldiers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to the Nazi occupiers of his country during World War II.
Torleiv, quoted by Israel Radio, said that Norway was under occupation for five years, “but we cannot remember, or I cannot remember, seeing German occupation troops taking people and beating them in the street, breaking their arms or legs, or taking children from their homes in the dead of night.”
The Norwegian ambassador later said that he had spoken in reply to a specific question and did not intend to liken the actions of Israeli soldiers in the administered territories to those of the Nazis.
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