Envoy Sorry for Remark on Israelis, Nazis

The Norwegian ambassador apologized to Israeli officials today for saying the conduct of Israeli troops in the occupied territories was worse than that of German troops who occupied Norway during World War II.

Ambassador Torleiv Anda apologized after he was summoned to the Foreign Ministry and met with the ministry’s political director-general, Yossi Beilin.

During the meeting, Beilin expressed his “sharp protest” to Anda, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Ehud Gol.

“The ambassador expressed regret that his words were understood in a way which has caused embarrassment,” Gol said.

Anda told Israel radio after the meeting that “there was a misunderstanding that I wanted to compare these two regimes, and I’m very happy to have the opportunity to clarify.”

Anda told reporters Tuesday that many Norwegians were comparing the conduct of the Israeli army to the behavior of Nazi troops who occupied Norway for five years during World War II.

“What the Germans did, including beating and torturing prisoners and suspects, was very bad,” the Jerusalem Post newspaper quoted Anda as saying. “But we do not remember them going out into the streets to break people’s arms and legs or pulling children out of their homes at night.”