PMO declines to comment on report about alleged double agent from the 1980's.
By ARIEH O'SULLIVAN, AP
A Norwegian woman with close ties to the Palestinian community succeeded in infiltrating the Mossad in the 1980s, reports from Oslo claimed Thursday.
The woman, identified by The Associated Press as Karin Linstad, said she decided to expose herself because she was being identified in a book being published next month.
"I can't go into detail about the people and the organizations," the alleged double agent told the AP.
"My starting point and my loyalty has always been with the Palestinian side."
Linstad was a founding member of the Norwegian Palestine Committee, and is married to high-profile Norwegian Muslim Trond Ali Linstad, who converted to Islam in the 1980s.
Linstad refused to give any details of her work for Mossad or as a pro-Palestinian counter-agent, or say how long it lasted. Nor would she confirm that she worked for the Palestinians, saying only "there are others who also sympathize with the Palestinians."
The revelation appeared to be part of the publicity campaign for a book entitled War and Diplomacy by state television NRK Middle East correspondent Odd Karsten Tveit. The book reportedly identifies Linstad as a former Mossad agent, but says nothing about her being a double agent.
Officials in the Prime Minister's Office, which is responsible for the Mossad, declined to comment on the report.
The Oslo newspaper Aftenposten said Mossad had been skeptical of Linstad's offer to act as an agent, but was drawn in by her claims of tight contact with leading Palestinians.
The newspaper, without citing sources, said she provided information about Palestinians in Beirut ahead of Israel's 1982 invasion.
Linstad's husband of 32 years said he had be unaware of his wife's activities, but that her being an agent could explain some past incidents.
"Karin came to me once and asked if someone came to her and asked to be part of the underground intelligence, what should she do," he told the AP. "I said if we can serve the Palestinian cause, it's right."
He said he had no details about her tasks, but that "I have complete faith that her evaluations were right."
Eldbjoerg Holte, who helped found the Norwegian Palestine Committee with her close friends the Linstads, said she was shocked by the revelation.
"Giving information about Palestinians, or me and my comrades in the Palestine Committee ... is rotten regardless of the motive," she was quoted as telling the Norwegian news agency NTB.