Norway finds common ground with China on support for Palestinians
Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide has been on a campaign of sorts lately to maintain support for Gaza’s Palestinian population. He has decried other allies’ recent cuts in support to the UN organization for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), after Israel accused 12 of UNRWA’s roughly 13,000 employees of taking part in the Palestinian Hamas organization’s attack on Israel on October 7. Norway ended up giving even more money, NOK 275 million kroner, to UNRWA in an effort to ease the ongoing suffering and “starving” among the people in Gaza and help offset the lack of funding from others.
Now he’s also found support for the Palestinians from the Chinese government, after meeting with China’s own foreign minister, Wang Yi, in Beijing. China, keen to keep both the Red Sea and Suez Canal open for transport and trade, confirmed its position that “without a fair solution for the Palestian problem (a land of their own), there won’t be lasting peace and stability in the Middle East.” China has also refused to call Hamas a terrorist organization and has tried to position itself as a peace broker in the Middle East, as has Norway.
Both Norway and China have been in contact with other Arab countries trying to get a new Israeli-Palestinian peace plan in place. China also believes that support for the UNRWA must be maintained.
Overall support for the people of Gaza remains strong in Norway. Norwegian organizations including Human Rights Watch and the Norwegian Refugee Council and newspapers on both the left- and right sides of Norwegian politics backed the Norwegian government’s decision to continue funding UNRWA.
The Norwegian government continues to oppose calls for sanctions against Israel. Eide believes that sanctions would weaken prospects for “other initiatives” to help Gaza. Norway is currently urging Israel, for example, to release money earmarked for the Palestinian Authority that it has held back.
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Богатая страна непуганных идиотов.