Norwegian FM Backtracks on Praise for Gilbert Book

By Published On: January 6, 2010

Ha’aretz reports today:

Norway’s foreign minister has distanced himself from claims that Israel perpetrated a “merciless massacre” in Gaza, after Israeli and Norwegian politicians criticized his praise for a book accusing Israel of willfully murdering civilians en masse.

“All Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store has done is to express recognition of the medical and humanitarian work that the book’s authors carried out in Gaza,” Bjorn Svenungsen of the Norwegian foreign ministry told the Norwegian daily Dagsavisen.

The spokesman said in reference to the book by doctors Mads Gilbert and Erik Fosse that “the minister has not commented on and verified the credibility of the contents of the book, but said that the book is the two doctors’ version of what happened.”

The statement came after Deputy Minister Ayalon told Haaretz that the book, entitled “Eyes in Gaza,” was “outrageous and borders on incitement made up of fabrication and lies.”

Ayalon also said that Store’s back-cover praise for the book was “problematic.”

For more on Gilbert, who has spoken out in support of the 9/11 terror attacks, and Fosse, and their visit to the Gaza Strip a year ago, see here and here.

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