Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gar Store on Wednesday angrily denied media reports that he had assured Israel that Norway had severed all ties to the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas.
Following a meeting with Israeli President Shimon Peres on Monday, reports circulated that Store had told Peres that Norway would no longer relate diplomatically to Hamas after the group violently seized control of the Gaza Strip.
In remarks carried by Ha'aretz, Store said he “couldn't believe it when I saw myself being quoted as saying this.”
Store's aids indicated that the purposely erroneous leak came from Peres' office.
Norway is one of only a small handful of Western nations to conduct official ties with Hamas, despite widespread recognition of the group as a terrorist entity.