Norway’s police intelligence agency PST officially raised the country’s threat level Tuesday afternoon because of an “uncertain situation” involving possible Israeli- and Jewish-related targets. The threat level was boosted from moderate to high.
“We don’t have any specific information today about any concrete terror plans in Norway,” said Inga Bejer Engh, assistant chief of PST, at a hastily called press conference late Tuesday afternoon, “but we’re working continuously to clarify threats and uncertainty.” She added that PST found it important to go public with the situation, to “honestly communicate what we’re dealing with right now.”
Engh, a former state prosecutor involved in Norway’s biggest terror case ever, said it was also important to raise public awareness of the threat situation in an effort to help ward it off. She said that was part of preventative efforts in addition to all the police already sent to guard possible targets.
“Our hope is to clarify the situation we’re facing now, hopefully so that we can reduce the threat level to where it was before today,” Engh said.
Norway’s normally unarmed police have also been ordered to carry arms nationwide at all times and be on high alert. Justice Minister Emilie Enger Mehl also cancelled a planned visit to open two new police stations in Agder, Southern Norway, in order to monitor the situation from Oslo.
“We will do everything we can to secure Norway as an open country based on mutual confidence and respect,” Mehl stated. She stressed how Norway should be “safe for everyone, therefore we’vre being open about how the threat evaluation has changed, even though that can spread concern and unease.” She claimed that raising public consciousness can also increase security.
Mehl and other Norwegian officials also noted how criminal networks have been used to carry out terrorist attacks in other countries around Europe. “We must be aware that criminal gangs and terrorist groups can have connections to Norway, too,” Mehl said, adding that the police are responsible for evaluating concrete operative measures and will follow PST’s evaluations.
Siv Sørensen, special adviser in PST’s counter-terrorism division, said that “several” factors led to the decision to raise the terror threat in Norway. Chief among them is the ongoing escalation of Israel’s attacks on Gaza and more recently Lebanon after Israel was itself attacked by Palestinian terrorists tied to the Hamas organization in Gaza a year ago. Israel has also been attacked by the Lebanese Hizbollah group since then.
“During the aftermath of Israel’s warfare we’ve seen a strong radicalization of extreme Islamists,” Sørensen said, “and that contributes towards clarifying the rise in frequency of attacks.” She also noted the various Jewish holidays this month that can present a “symbolic” motivation for potential terrorist attacks.
PST and Norwegian police also pointed to the shots that were fired at the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm last week, closely followed by an explosion at the Israeli Embassy in Copenhagen. Swedish authorities have later confirmed a link between the two attacks.
“Two Swedes have been arrested in Denmark and charged with terrorism against the embassy in Copenhagen,” Sørensen said at Tuesday’s press conference. She added that “people tied to the attack in Copenhagen have had activity related to Norway” as well. One of them involves a Swedish citizen with ties to Iran. “We’re trying to clarify the ties as quickly as possible,” Sørensen said.
Benedicte Bjørnland, director of Norway’s state police, said “we will now have more visible and not so visible” measures in place around the country. They will include more presence of both uniformed and plain-clothed police and more police patrols around potential targets, stricter control at border crossings and police protection at large public gatherings. The order to carry arms is expected to remain in place for at least four weeks.
NewsinEnglish.no/Nina Berglund