[cont’d] Norwegian Foreign Minister: We Decided to Recognize a Palestinian State Now Due to Netanyahu's Government's Policies
In an interview with Haaretz, Anniken Huitfeldt said that the government's position against negotiations with the Palestinians, its support for the establishment of settlements and its policies in the West Bank pushed her country and its partners to initiate the move now.
[…] "There is a feeling that with the current government, it is impossible to continue sitting and waiting for an agreement, […] This encourages countries to take action."
[…] "Our commitment to a two-state solution has existed for decades, but we always believed that it would come as a result of an agreement and mutual recognition,"
[…] "The current Israeli government is very clear in its position against negotiating (with the Palestinians), and this certainly influenced us, […] Some said we should have done this long ago."
Huitfeldt accused Netanyahu's current government of
[…] "supporting the establishment of new and illegal settlements, and an overall policy that distances an agreement in the West Bank."
In response to #Haaretz's question about the Israeli criticism that the three countries' decision is an achievement for Hamas, Huitfeldt said that in her view the opposite is true:
[…] "We want to strengthen the moderate forces in the Palestinian Authority and in Israel that support the two-state solution and are enemies of Hamas. We want to strengthen the anti-Hamas, and I hear reactions from Palestinians today telling me – 'This is an important step for those who oppose terror, oppose violence, and support a political solution.' That is our goal, to convey a message of support for the two-state solution, which Hamas does not support."