Israel has revoked the accreditation of eight Norwegian diplomats working as representatives to the Palestinian Authority, drawing a sharp response from Norway’s foreign minister who called it “an extreme act”, Reuters reports.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said the decision to revoke the diplomats’ status was made in response to what he described as Norway’s anti-Israeli conduct, including its recognition of a Palestinian state.

“Norway conducts a one-sided policy on the Palestinian issue, and will therefore be removed from the Palestinian issue,” Katz said in a statement.

Norway blames the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the diplomatic spat and is now considering its response to the situation, Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide said in a statement.

“This is an extreme act that primarily affects our ability to help the Palestinian population … Today’s decision will have consequences for our relationship with the Netanyahu government,” he said.

The decision was also condemned by the Palestinian Authority, as a “violation and breach of international laws”.

“The decision of the Israeli foreign ministry regarding the Norwegian mission in Palestine has dangerous dimensions and carries major repercussions,” Hussein Al-Sheikh, general secretary of President Mahmoud Abbas’s Palestinian Liberation Organisation said in a statement on X.