Norway will raise its threat level from moderate to high, namely because of the intensification of threats against Jewish and Israeli targets in the country, the Norwegian Police Security Service said on Tuesday.
Norway has raised its terror threat level from three to four on a scale of one to five, the country’s police security service said on Tuesday.
“‘In Norway, it is primarily the threat to Jewish and Israeli targets that has been further intensified’, the security service’s senior adviser, Eirik Veum, told Norwegian media NTB.
The escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, as well as other factors, are reasons for Norway increasing its terrorist threat, he added.
Tensions in the Middle East have already led to attacks on Israeli embassies in Copenhagen and Stockholm earlier this month, which Swedish intelligence services suspect were carried out by local criminal networks on behalf of Iran.
“Going forward, we will be paying increased attention to the fact that state actors can use criminal networks to carry out terrorist acts, and what consequences this has for the police’s efforts against these organisations,” said the security services’ director general, Marie Benedicte Bjørnland.
Based on the threat assessment, Bjørnland also decided to exceptionally arm police patrols throughout the country.
“The decision is based on the police being able to take faster action in the event of a terrorist attack to prevent, limit the extent of damage, or stop an ongoing attack”, Bjørnland added.
In Norway, police officers are generally unarmed during routine patrols, and weapons are securely stored in patrol cars and used only when authorised by higher command. This approach reflects Norway’s commitment to a low-violence policing strategy and its focus on public safety with minimal use of force.
(Charles Szumski | Euractiv.com)
Source: euractiv.com
