Israel refuses the Norwegian Foreign Minister's request for a visit

Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz has officially turned down a request by Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide to visit Israel, Israel Hayom reported.

Prior to Eide's direct request, his ministry contacted the Israeli Foreign Ministry to arrange the visit, but received no response, effectively "delaying" the process. Consequently, Eide approached Katz directly and was rejected.

As per Israel Hayom, Norway's interest in mending ties with Israel began at the NATO conference last week, where Eide approached Katz at a reception. Eide remarked, "We have a lot of things to talk about," to which Katz reportedly responded, "There are also a lot of things you have done to us."

In May, in the aftermath of Hamas' massacre of Israeli civilians, Norway, Ireland, and Spain announced their recognition of a "Palestinian state," becoming some of the first countries to do so.

Responding promptly, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz moved to recall Israel's ambassador to Norway.

Following this, Israel began preparations to exclude the representatives of Norway, Ireland, Spain, and Slovenia from official briefings, with reports indicating that updates and requests from these countries would be delayed.

* Arutz 7 contributed to this report