By DPA,
Oslo : The Norwegian Foreign Ministry distanced itself Wednesday from an e-mail sent by a Norwegian diplomat comparing Israel’s offensive in Gaza with events in World War II and the persecution of Jews.
“We have clearly stated that the content does not represent Norway’s official view,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Haakon Svane told DPA.
The female diplomat, based in Saudi Arabia, sent an e-mail from her official foreign ministry account with some 40 photos from Gaza paired with World War II images.
The e-mail was obtained – and printed – by the Jerusalem Post newspaper.
“The grandchildren of Holocaust survivors from World War II are doing to the Palestinians exactly what was done to them by Nazi Germany,” according to an extract printed by the newspaper.
The Norwegian Foreign Ministry has launched a dialogue with the diplomat, but Svane declined to spell out what measures were likely, citing labour and personnel legislation.
Svane said Israel had not contacted the Norwegian Foreign Ministry about the e-mail.