Bassem Hussein, a professor of engineering at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, called the October 7 massacre “the most beautiful thing that happened this century.” Hussein, who is of Palestinian origin and whose family lives in Gaza, made the remarks at an event held at Norway’s largest university, which was filmed and posted on YouTube.
Israel’s chargé d’affaires ad interim in Oslo, Eytan Halon, responded to the video on X, calling it “a shocking glorification of terror" by the professor. He added: “This Hamas supporter cannot continue teaching Norway's students.”
Hussein has previously led pro-Palestinian protests on campus and even set up a tent encampment outside the university where he lectures, demanding that it sever academic and industrial ties with Israel. “It is embarrassing that NTNU is the only university that has not yet discussed the situation in Gaza,” he said at the time. According to him, his relatives are in a refugee camp in northern Gaza, and he lives with constant anxiety about their fate.
The Israeli Embassy in Norway has operated without an official ambassador since May 2024, when Avi Nir-Feldklein was recalled to Israel for consultations following Norway’s formal recognition of a Palestinian state. Last year, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar considered closing the embassy in Oslo after the left’s victory in the country’s elections.
Norway has been one of the countries most hostile to Israel since October 7, rivaled only by Ireland and Spain. The Norwegian government is among the most extreme Israel has had to deal with so far. One prominent example was Norway’s appeal to the International Court of Justice in The Hague over the Israeli government’s decision to end UNRWA’s operations in Israel.
In addition, Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the largest in the world, announced in August 2025 that it would stop investing in Israeli banks — including First International Bank, Leumi, Mizrahi Tefahot, Hapoalim and the FIBI investment house — as well as in the U.S. engineering equipment company Caterpillar, maker of the D9 bulldozers used by the IDF Combat Engineering Corps.
A Foreign Ministry official said at the time that “Norway took something that was supposed to be substantive, professional and economic, and turned it political. They are injecting anti-Israel politicization into the wealth fund.”