Comments by the Prime Minister at the Munich Security Conference at the panel “Towards Stability and Peace in the Middle East: De-escalation Challenge"

The comments as delivered (transcript from the video recording)

The U.S. and Israel

I think the Americans are in a very complex situation. I think – from the messages we got from the first day, from what I would call very obvious and necessary solidarity with Israel, after what happened on 7 October, I think that is really the starting point – that sometimes is being lost – from the bigger picture of what really happened on that day, and what all that has created of an atmosphere in Israel. And with the bonds between the US and Israel – and between, you know, all of us – as friends of Israel, and we need to get on the inside of that trauma.

So, that being said, I think the objective stated by the US, since October and until now, the five rounds of Secretary Blinken’s visit; I think it is a major challenge for the US’ credibility here, because there have been clear expectations, and then you see that what is expected is not happening. I think that is a big challenge. And that’s why – you know – I salute what Qatar is doing and what is attempted to be done to facilitate progress in this extremely complex situation.

On the one hand, the US is a major financial supporter of Israel, major support on the military side, part of what is landing in the theatre in Gaza is US produced, so – again, you know, it is a balance between solidarity with a country that has been attacked in a terrible way, and has a right to defend itself – and then to find this balance with what humanitarian law implies.

You know, from my side, I would say that that has gone too far, it is not proportional, and I think – for the security of Israel in the future, I think it is a deep and major and extraordinary problem mounting now from the two million people, who both have been exposed to brutal urban war, and again, you know, some of them being human shields of Hamas’ fighting – so, with so much destruction and now suffering, all that are going to create a security challenge for generations.

Europe’s role

Again, you know, the Europeans are not one thing here – I think that have been exposed, time and again, and in a way, I think it is, sometimes, a misunderstood position of being what it means to be a friend and sympathetic to things – for sometimes I think quite straight language is needed.

I think this issue of getting humanitarian aid in to a population that is in these dire conditions, is absolutely paramount, and it should be, in my view, a clearer unified voice, clearer votes on that, and then – of course – clear expectations that the negotiations which are very delicate, to go on to get the hostages out and to bring this war towards something that can be settled, so we can go on with the next stage, which is to say; what will this look like in the future? Because now, it is a very ‘short-termism’, and I think that is also combined with the political situation inside Israel.

Israel, the Palestinian Authority and the two-state solution

Now, it can be dark times before even darker times, and this is an escalation going the wrong way. Coming back to your point here, I think that our approach has to be that we have to work – Norway from afar – we have a long engagement with parties in the region – so, Qatar and Norway are in different positions, but let us see how we can contribute. Now, take one part here, the PA, if the PA collapses, I believe it is a major danger for the Palestinians and for Israelis, and the situation has been now for some months that Israel has withheld Palestinian tax money, 60 percent of what they need to pay teachers, police people, doctors, nurses, and in a few weeks, by and large, it will be broke, and out of order. What will be the consequences of that?

So, the question is then, is the PA perfect, is it organised as it should, is it enough representative? That can be discussed. Are we served or are people in the region served by seeing the PA collapse? I think it isn’t. So, Norway has been working now, and I hope we will be able to succeed soon, to have a kind of an intermediate role to get that money transferred to the PA. There are certain elements we should avoid, you know, collapsing. We have the whole other debate of UNRWA, which is obviously something that has to looked into after 7 October. The UN should do its investigations, but are we served by seeing this organisation collapse, for the three or four million people who depend on their services? I believe now.

So, we have to take things in sequences, and I think that what is coming out, at this initial state when we look ahead and with the countries in the region – and Norway has been leading the donor support group to the Palestinians (AHLC) – is that the vision of a Palestinian state is now stronger than it was before the war. But getting there is going to be extremely hard with the current political situation, so we have to rise above that situation, in my view, and start conceptualizing what that means. And it will mean profound reforms on the Palestinian side – you talk about having a PA that can be responsible for managing in Gaza. Obviously, I cannot see – again, from the outside – any future if there is going to be Hamas ruling in Gaza – that is not going to work, and for obvious reasons, and I can understand why.

So, we need a Palestinian leadership which is sufficiently representative of the Palestinian people, who can be representative for the people living in Gaza, and can be supported by the international community and be relied on, to be transparent – for money-flows and all the rest of it. And then there has to be expectations from Israel that they have to deal with this, as being representatives of your neighbouring – not yet state, but people living close to you – and then, I think, to address countries in the region. This donor support group that we have been chairing has had far too passive contribution from the region itself and that may be changing now, because there is a new generation of leaders coming in from countries around, who have to engage much more actively in something which I see is a combination of recognizing Israel and dealing with Israel, having normal ties, and at the same time expecting that there is a Palestinian state.