Norway calls for boycott on arms to Israel

OSLO (AFP) – A Norwegian minister and leader of a political party calls for an international boycott of arms trade with Israel following a deadly raid by Israeli commandoes on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla.

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“Everyone should follow the Norwegian position which excludes trading arms with Israel,” said Kristin Halvorsen, education minister and head of the Socialist Left party, according to the Dagbladet tabloid.

“It doesn’t have much of an effect if we do it alone, but the current situation is unbearable,” she added.

Norway on Monday summoned the Israeli ambassador in Oslo and condemned the raid as “unacceptable”.

Norwegian foreign ministry spokesman Bjí¸rn Jahnsen meanwhile told AFP that the three Norwegians who had been onboard one of the flotilla’s six boats were unharmed and detained in the south of Israel.

Nine of the flotilla’s passengers were killed when Israeli commandoes attacked it early Monday.

The ships, carrying more than 700 passengers, were on the last leg of a high-profile mission to deliver some 10,000 tonnes of supplies to Hamas-run Gaza as part of a protest against the blockade.

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