OSLO: Israel on Saturday condemned Norway’s decision to label products from Israeli settlements with their place of origin.

A statement from Israel’s foreign ministry said the position “will adversely affect bilateral relations between Israel and Norway, as well as Norway’s relevance to promoting relations between Israel and the Palestinians”.

The ministry was referring to Norway’s longstanding role as a mediator in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Norway’s social democrat government announced its new policy on Friday, saying it was not enough to label products coming from the occupied territories as Israeli.