The Epstein investigation into two top Norwegian diplomats has led police to boxes of historical and classified documents. Now, a researcher is gaining access to material that has been missing for decades—and that may shed new light on Norway’s true role behind the Oslo Accords.
The discovery was made during a search of the top diplomats' homes Mona Juul and Terje Rød-Larsen. Both have been implicated in the Norwegian Epstein scandal, and Økokrim is investigating allegations of aggravated corruption and aiding and abetting aggravated corruption, respectively, reports Daily News (DN).
Several moving boxes containing historical and classified documents were found in the couple's basement. They may contain material from the sensitive negotiations that led to the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinian PLO in 1993.
Documents have been missing for decades
The historian Hilde Henriksen Waage Researchers at the University of Oslo have long pointed out that important documents from the Oslo Process are missing from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ official archives. These include, among other things, meeting minutes, letters, and notes from January through September 1993.
Waage has now been given the go-ahead to examine the contents of the boxes in the basement. The material may thus shed new light on how the process actually unfolded and what role Norway played.
Refused to hand over the private archive
Rød-Larsen announced as early as 2006 that he had no intention of releasing the documents in his private archive. During Wednesday’s Epstein hearing in the Storting, Norway’s prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre questions about the matter.
Støre, who was foreign minister at the time, said:
– The Ministry of Foreign Affairs lacked the authority to determine what kind of document he had.
Støre now welcomes the fact that the material has been found and can be examined.
– I can’t draw any conclusions about whether the documents should have been archived by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but it’s good that they’ve been found, so we can get an overview. I hope the researchers will have full access to the material they’re supposed to have access to.
The image of the Oslo Accords is being called into question
At the same time, the former top diplomat downplays Jan Egeland downplayed Norway's role. He himself played a central role in the process during the 1990s.
“We were enforcers, not peacemakers.”.
The Epstein investigation has thus had an unexpected consequence: documents that were previously out of reach for researchers can now be accessed and provide new insights into one of Norway’s most high-profile diplomatic projects.
