The Norway connection In 1974, Norway was one of just eight countries that voted against granting the PLO a stature in the UN General Assembly. At the time, 87 of Norway's 157 parliamentarians were members of what was called the Friends of Israel Foundation, and the country's ruling Labour Party shared more than just its name with the Israeli Labour Party. Neither of these facts were ever a secret and while to many they might have seemed reason enough to prevent Norway acting as a mediator in the peace process, some parties were of the opposite view altogether; not least of all the PLO, which was particularly enthusiastic about using Norway as a back channel for any negotiations, and the Norwegian foreign ministry, which embraced the role with gusto. One of the most interesting discoveries to emerge from my research did not in fact directly relate to the Accords but instead pertained to events 14 years earlier. The year was 1979 and, as the PLO was defending its position in Lebanon, a revolution was erupting in Iran. Iran under the shah had not only been a key ally of Israel, it had also supplied oil to the growing state. But the revolution changed that, and Israel and the US were forced to look elsewhere for a supplier. They sought a country that not only had an abundance of newly discovered oil, but which was also wealthy enough to be able to offer it at a reasonable price. That country was Norway. The foreign ministry of Norway, while ready to be of support to its long-time friends, was concerned about the safety of Norwegian members of the UNIFIL force that had been in place in southern Lebanon since 1978. Norwegian diplomat Hans Longva was sent to discuss the matter with Yasser Arafat, the leader of the PLO. Much to his surprise, Arafat immediately supported the Norwegian plan to guarantee an oil supply to Israel. He had just one condition: that the Norwegians should provide a secret back channel to Israel when needed. The Norwegians would keep their promise - but not for another 10 years. Initially, as Jan Egeland, Norway's deputy foreign minister during the early 1990s, explained in our documentary: "It takes two to Tango; we did not have the Israeli side." But that changed in 1989 when, at the peak of the Palestinian Intifada, Israel was feeling both the economic and moral strain. In a bid to ease international pressure and stop the losses inflicted upon it, Yitzhak Shamir, the then Israeli prime minister, declared: "Stop the riots and let us talk." With both parties now ready to tango, the Norwegian foreign ministry started taking concrete steps towards mediation. Thorvald Stoltenberg, the then Norwegian foreign minister and, interestingly, father of the current prime minister Jens Stoltenberg, formulated a team of six to prepare and administer the negotiations. It was a close-knit team of co-workers and relatives.
Israel The Price Of Oslo Part 1 - YouTube |
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