Last update - 00:00 08/08/2007
Norwegian FM denies saying his country severed ties with Hamas
By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent
Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gar Store denied on Wednesday having told President Shimon Peres on Monday that his country had severed all ties with Hamas.
Store expressed his outrage at allegations he had made this comment. In a meeting with Meretz Party Chairman Yossi Beilin on Wednesday, Store said that he had never said such a thing and that he "couldn't believe it when I saw myself being quoted as saying this."
Stores associates directed their criticism as Peres' office.
On Monday, Store was quoted as saying that the Norwegian government had halted the ties it had cultivated with Hamas when the Palestinian unity government was intact, and now deals exclusively with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' government and PA Prime Minister Salam Fayad.
The unity government, led by Hamas, was dismantled by Abbas in the wake of Hamas' violent takeover of the Gaza Strip in mid-June.
In his meeting with Beilin, the Norwegian official said that his country maintains its contacts with Hamas, but on a lower scale than in the past.
"For 30 years our policy was to maintain ties with all groups in the conflict zones," he said. "We still believe in this, but since Hamas' takeover of Gaza we have lowered the contact [with Hamas] a notch, but we haven't severed all ties."
Store reiterated his anger over Israel's conflicting messages saying "on the one hand I am thanked and my efforts to free [abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier] Gilad Shalit are welcomed. But on the other hand, I'm told not to talk to Hamas," he added.