– Did the king wish to offer his condolences to Israel? – Yes, there was one possibility. But it is not me who decides, it is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who decides the foreign policy here, says King Harald to news’s ”The year with the royal family”. Last month it became known that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) had advised the king not to offer condolences to Israel. According to correspondence between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the head of the court, which Dagbladet has obtained access to, it happened two days after Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October. Asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for advice. It was the worst terrorist attack in Israel’s history. At least 1,200 Israelis were killed, most of them civilians. 200 had been taken hostage. Should the king condole Israel? The question was taken up with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. – It is the way it is in this country that it is the government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that decides foreign policy. And then it is natural that we consult with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before we make such a decision, says King Harald. The war in the Middle East was among the topics when news’s ”The Year with the Royal Family” met the king this month. Photo: Eskil Wie Furunes / news – And it is also the case that in some cases it is the prime minister who offers condolences, and in other cases it is the king who offers his condolences to the head of state, says the king. On 9 October, Chief of Court Olav Heian-Engdal opened the opening of the new logistics building at the Castle by drawing attention to the attack on Israel. – I want to start by saying, because I think it is necessary on a day like today, that we also have to send our thoughts to all those who have lost someone or are affected by the attack in Israel on Saturday and the events the following days, said Heian-Engdal. – Saturday was the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust, and we can only pray that innocent lives are spared in the time ahead. The same evening, the head of court received a reply from the Foreign Ministry, where the Foreign Ministry’s advice was that the king should not offer his condolences to Israel. Chief of Court Olav Heian-Engdal received Crown Prince Haakon at the opening of the logistics building at the Palace on 9 October. Heian-Engdal turned his attention to Israel, but was told the same day by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that they advised the king not to offer condolences. Photo: Cornelius Poppe / NTB “The political nature of the conflict” – This was a decision taken in line with established practice, says communications manager Tuva Bogsnes in the Foreign Ministry to news. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated in its response to the head of court that the general rule is that it is the government, through the prime minister or the foreign minister, who offer condolences after acts of terrorism. This despite the fact that the king, as head of state, has offered condolences on behalf of Norway a number of times after terrorist attacks in various places in the world, such as in Christchurch in New Zealand, Manchester, Stockholm, Brussels, Istanbul, Nice, Paris and London. “In light of the political nature of the conflict, it is considered natural that any condolences in the present case go from the government,” the Foreign Ministry replied when it came to Israel. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre expressed his condolences to the victims during his statement in the Storting on 11 October. According to the Prime Minister’s Office (SMK), Støre has expressed his condolences both during the presentation and in contact with Israel’s president and prime minister, and that this is to be considered a condolence. – My and the government’s deepest condolences go to the victims – to those who have lost loved ones, those who have experienced violence, murder and mistreatment, and to those who now live in uncertainty about what is to come, said Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre in his statement in the Storting on the situation in the Middle East on 11 October. Photo: Haakon Mosvold Larsen / NTB The king: Very warm with condolences after Utøya – So this time it was the prime minister, says King Harald to news. – So one can say, why is this so important, then? Who does what, or that one offers condolences at all, he adds. – But then I can say that in connection with Utøya, we received a lot of letters and emails from people or countries who sympathized with us. So I have a tiny little idea of how important it really was. It was very warm that there were so many people who had compassion for us then.
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– The Ministry of Foreign Affairs decides – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
