Norway's biggest trade union voted Friday in favor of a boycott against Israel, AFP reported.
The decision was immediately condemned by Israeli diplomats who judged it "immoral".
The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) went against a recommendation from its leadership and voted 197 to 117 in favor of an international economic, cultural and academic boycott against Israel because of the current impasse in peace talks with the Palestinian Authority (PA).
LO, which also called for Norway to recognize a Palestinian state according to the pre-1967 borders, was criticized by the government.
"Norwegian government strongly opposes Norw Labour Union's decision: #boycott of #Israel. We need more cooperation and dialogue, not boycott," Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende wrote on Twitter.
Israel's embassy in Oslo said it "condemns in the strongest terms" the boycott.
"This immoral resolution reflects deeply rooted attitudes of bias, discrimination and double standard towards the Jewish state," ambassador Raphael Schutz wrote in an email to AFP.
Noting that LO had also called for the dismantling of a barrier erected by Israel separating it from the Palestinian territories, Schutz said that "by adopting these positions LO placed itself shoulder to shoulder with the worst enemies of Israel".
Last December, the City Council of the Norwegian city of Tromso adopted a resolution calling on its residents to boycott products made in Judea, Samaria, eastern Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.
Trondheim, Norway's third largest city, adopted a similar measure a month earlier.
(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)