Nordic countries concerned about measures against Palestinians

Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre commented, “I welcome the agreement between Hamas and Israel on the release of Gilad Shalit and exchange of prisoners. Norway’s position all along has been that Shalit’s imprisonment was unacceptable, and we have been among the countries actively working for his release.”

AHLC members and other major donor countries met in New York today. The meeting was hosted by the UN and Under-Secretary General Lynn Pascoe. The Chair, Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, commended the participants, in particular the Palestinians and the Israelis, for their spirit of cooperation and their positive contributions to the deliberations.

Battir Cultural Landscape has been awarded “The Melina Mercouri International Prize” for protection and management of cultural landscape on the West Bank. The project is a collaboration between UNESCO’s office in Ramallah, local government and Norway.

The Foreign Minister has decided to upgrade the Palestinian representation to Norway. Since August this year several countries, including France, Spain, Greece and Portugal, have upgraded Palestinian representation.