Israeli soldiers in Norway should be investigated and, where justified by the evidence, prosecuted for international crimes, according to the head of the United Nations commission examining violations in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.
Srinivasan Muralidhar, chair of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry, told the Norwegian newspaper Klassekampen that Norwegian authorities could investigate people currently on Norwegian territory, particularly soldiers belonging to military units examined by the commission.
“We are talking about crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide,” Muralidhar said in the interview published on 25 July.
Norway’s National Criminal Investigation Service, Kripos, confirmed that it is aware of the UN findings. However, the agency said it would need concrete information about individuals and possible offences before deciding whether to open a case.
UN investigator calls for action against Israeli soldiers in Norway
Muralidhar argued that the presence of suspected perpetrators in Norway could provide Norwegian police with a legal basis to investigate conduct committed abroad.
The UN investigator did not call for Israeli soldiers to be prosecuted solely because they served in the armed forces. Any investigation would have to establish a possible connection between an identifiable individual and specific criminal acts.
Kripos has national responsibility for investigating war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. According to the Norwegian police, its international crimes section is the only Norwegian police unit authorised to investigate such offences committed abroad by people present in Norway.
Norwegian criminal law can apply to serious offences committed outside the country by foreign citizens who are present in Norway. This includes genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, although an investigation still requires evidence or sufficiently specific information concerning the suspected person.
Kripos told Klassekampen that it is familiar with the UN report but stressed that concrete information must be available before a formal investigation can be opened.
The UN report focuses on crimes against Palestinian children
Muralidhar’s appeal follows the publication of the commission’s report, “The essence of childhood has been destroyed”, which examines alleged violations against Palestinian children between 7 October 2023 and 31 March 2026.
The report, dated 18 June and presented publicly on 23 June, concluded that Israeli authorities and security forces had deliberately inflicted death and serious physical and psychological harm on Palestinian children.
According to the commission, at least 20,179 Palestinian children were killed and 44,143 injured during the period examined. It also documented allegations involving attacks on schools and healthcare facilities, detention, torture, sexual violence, forced displacement and restrictions on food, medicine and humanitarian assistance.
The commission said it had reasonable grounds to conclude that some of these acts formed part of a strategy intended to destroy Palestinians in Gaza as a group by targeting their children. It classified the alleged conduct as genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza, as well as war crimes in the occupied West Bank.
The commission previously found that Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups had also committed war crimes and crimes against humanity on 7 October 2023, including crimes against Israeli children and child hostages. The latest report states that 40 Israeli children were killed in the attacks, while others were injured, abducted or subjected to physical and psychological mistreatment.
Israel rejects the commission’s findings
The Israeli embassy in Oslo rejected the report and described the commission as a fundamentally flawed mechanism intended to single out and discredit Israel rather than establish the truth.
In its response to Klassekampen, the embassy accused the investigators of excluding Israeli children who were killed, abducted or attacked by Hamas from the report’s analysis.
The commission says, however, that crimes against Israeli children were examined in previous reports published in 2024. It also states that it sent 13 requests for information or access to the Israeli government while preparing its latest findings but received no response.
Israel has consistently denied deliberately targeting civilians and has rejected the accusation that its conduct in Gaza amounts to genocide. Israeli authorities argue that military operations have targeted Hamas and that the armed group has operated from civilian areas.
Norway could use jurisdiction over international crimes
The dispute places renewed attention on Norway’s ability to prosecute international crimes committed outside its territory.
Under Section 5 of the Norwegian Penal Code, Norwegian criminal law can apply to certain acts committed abroad by foreign citizens who are present in Norway. The provisions cover serious offences including genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
This does not mean that every soldier associated with a unit mentioned in an international report can automatically be investigated or charged. Prosecutors would need information linking the individual to criminal conduct, as well as evidence capable of meeting Norwegian criminal-law standards.
Kripos has nevertheless emphasised that Norway has an international responsibility not to become a safe haven for people suspected of war crimes. Its international crimes section can gather information, conduct investigations and refer cases for prosecution in Norway, or support extradition to another country or an international court.
Muralidhar’s intervention therefore creates no immediate criminal proceedings. It instead puts pressure on Norwegian authorities to examine whether information concerning Israeli soldiers entering or residing in the country is sufficiently specific to justify further action.
