Victims of the Israeli attack in Rafah on 28 December. Photo: MOHAMMED ABED / AFP / NTB Palestinians hit by an Israeli attack arrive at Rafah hospital on December 28. Photo: MOHAMMED ABED / AFP / NTBB Children search the ruins after a bomb attack on December 31. Photo: MOHAMMED ABED / AFP / NTB People fleeing Khan Yunis, with some of their belongings, arrive in Rafah on January 4. Photo: MOHAMMED ABED / AFP / NTB
previous
in this
Victims of the Israeli attack in Rafah on 28 December. Photo: MOHAMMED ABED / AFP / NTB
The Storting will soon decide whether Norway should boycott Israel. Almost all other Norwegians think this is right.
Published:
Less than 20 minutes ago
– This says a lot about the major changes in attitude of Norwegian public opinion. Since the 1980s there has been a gradual shift in public opinion in a more pro-Palestinian direction, as Norwegians have become increasingly critical of Israeli policy, Hilde Henriksen Waage tells VG.
She is a professor of history at UiO and a senior researcher at PRIOPRIOPRIO, an acronym for The Peace Research Institute Oslo. It is an independent social science research institute based in Oslo, organized as a private foundation.
– The figures tell us that half of the Norwegian people think this war has gone too far – and believe that the Norwegian government and the rest of the international community are not using strong enough tools to stop Israel’s war, she says, when she is presented the results of the investigation.
The measurement carried out by Respons Analysis on behalf of VG highlights:
47% say they are positive about boycotting Israel
27% respond negatively
27% are not sure
The positive attitude towards the boycott of Israel is not only valid among left-wing voters: only among those who intend to vote for Frp and KrF in the next elections are negative rather than positive.
So many people are positive about the boycotts in each party:
Information
Facts about the survey
The VG raised the issue of boycotting Israel in relation to the party’s latest Respons Analyze barometer, conducted for the VG from January 3-8.
1,000 interviews were conducted and the margin of error is +/- 2-3 percentage points.
This is the distribution within each party between those who have a positive and negative attitude towards boycotting Israel. The rest is not certain.
– Many people react to the extremely brutal war against the Palestinians. Record numbers of children are being killed, record numbers of journalists are being killed, and they are attacking schools and UN camps. Most Norwegians want Norway to react more forcefully to these violations of international law, and therefore I think support for boycotts is also increasing, says former Rødt leader Bjørnar Moxnes.
TOUGH: Red, here with former party leader Moxnes and current party leader Sneve Martinussen, put forward several proposals for tough sanctions against Israel. Photo: Terje Pedersen/NTB
Moxnes will return to work at the Storting on Wednesday, having been on sick leave since November. There he sits on the foreign affairs committee.
They are considering several proposals from SV and Rødt, among other things, on an arms embargo against Israel, on banning trade in Israeli goods and services and on freezing the free trade agreement with Israel.
– The violation of international law in Gaza is no less serious than that in Ukraine. We support tough measures against the Russian leadership, but we must also support tough measures against the Israeli leadership, says Moxnes.
The left wants sanctions
Both SV and Rødt have long been in favor of boycotting Israel. But after the brutal war in Gaza has been going on for more than three months, several parties are at loggerheads:
Ola Elvestuen from Venstre told TV2 in November that a boycott is not right during war. Now the Liberal Party is also putting forward several proposals for sanctions against Israel.
WE WANT SANCTIONS: Abid Raja (V) believes that Norway should take the initiative for sanctions in cooperation with other countries, if they do not want to be introduced alone. Photo: Tore Kristiansen / VG
They will ask the government to “stop Norway from importing goods from illegal settlements, occupied lands and companies that contribute to violations of international law and human rights in illegally occupied areas.”
– If the government does not want to introduce a ban, it should at least introduce an official warning against trading in goods from the occupied Palestinian territories, says Abid Raja.
He points out that Israeli politicians have supported the “migration” of Palestinian civilians out of Gaza.
– This is a population that has suffered for decades, and is now being collectively punished by one of the strongest military powers in the world. Some of them are talking to the government about removing everyone from Gaza: this is the definition of ethnic cleansing and genocide.
ENGAGING: The war in Gaza sparks strong engagement around the world. The image is from a demonstration in Oslo in December. Photo: Heiko Junge/NTB
Not government policy
But sanctions against Israel are not on the government’s agenda. Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide (AP) called Gaza “hell on earth” but says Norway cannot implement its own national sanctions.
– I think the most important thing we can do is to use the means at our disposal to stop the war. Norway’s sanctions policy is that we do not have our own sanctions: we are part of international sanctions largely adopted by the UN Security Council, or common European sanctions, says Åsmund Aukrust (AP), vice-president of the Affairs Committee foreigners at the UN. Storage.
– Wouldn’t you be able to send a signal if Norway adopted sanctions?
– The goal is not for it to be a symbolic signal to ourselves, the goal is for it to have an effect.
NEGATIVE: Åsmund Aukrust says Norway does a lot for Palestine, but that sanctions should be something several countries unite on. Photo: Håkon Mosvold Larsen / NTB
He points out that Norway was the only Nordic country to vote in late October on a UN resolution for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. A month later they all voted in favor of a similar resolution, which received an overwhelming majority.
– This shows that what Norway does actually has an impact. It is important what Norway thinks, but even more important what we make other countries think. We receive a lot of support from Arab countries and the Palestinian authorities know very well that they hardly have better friends in Europe than Norway. We will continue to be so.
– It is important to maintain contact
Ine Eriksen Søreide of Høyre also says that there are sanctions that enjoy broad international support and are effective and legitimate.
– Today there is no broad international support for sanctions against Israel. In the current situation it is also important to maintain contacts with both sides, also to help improve the situation of the Palestinian civilian population, he says.
NOT: Eriksen Søreide says the Conservative Party has clearly criticized Israel for violating international law, but that Norway is not introducing sanctions on its own. Photo: Frode Hansen / VG
VG also asked Respons how people think the government should handle the conflict in the future. They asked us whether we should express more support for Israel, more support for the Palestinians, or continue as we have done so far?
6% believe Norway should express more support for Israel
31% believe Norway should express more support for the Palestinians
37% believe that Norway should continue as it has done so far
