The Norwegian diplomat who was a key architect of the 1993 Oslo Accords is facing a storm of corruption and blackmail accusations after new documents revealed he was deeply entrenched in the inner circle of the late sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Terje Rod-Larsen, a central figure in the Middle East “peace process” in the 1990s, is involved in recently released files by the US Department of Justice and Norwegian media investigations that expose a relationship involving illicit loans, visa fraud for female sex trafficking victims and a beneficiary clause in Epstein’s will worth millions of dollars.
The revelations have shocked the diplomatic community and led to the resignation of Rod-Larsen’s wife, Mona Juul – herself a key figure in the Oslo negotiations – from her post as Norwegian ambassador to Jordan and Iraq this month. His security clearance was also revoked.
Palestinian leaders now question whether the founding Oslo accords for the two-state solution were negotiated by a mediator vulnerable to elite blackmail and pressure from foreign intelligence services.
The plan was announced in the Western world at the time, and in the 30 years since, it has been trampled by successive Israeli governments, with far-right leaders now openly pushing for annexation of the occupied West Bank.
Investigations by Norwegian broadcaster NRK and newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN) detail how Rod-Larsen used his position as president of the International Peace Institute (IPI) think tank in New York to launder the reputations of Epstein associates.
According to the files, Rod-Larsen wrote official letters of recommendation to US authorities to obtain visas for young Russian women in Epstein’s orbit, claiming they possessed “extraordinary abilities” suitable for investigative roles.
In reality, these women were often uneducated models who were allegedly trafficked and abused by the financier. One victim told NRK she believed Epstein sent her to Rod-Larsen’s institute “to manipulate her,” while another described how the diplomat provided her with visas after a direct request from Epstein’s assistant.
The transactional nature of the relationship was explicit. Documents show that Epstein loaned Rod-Larsen $130,000 in 2013. More damning, reports indicate that Epstein’s last will and testament included a clause bequeathing $5 million each to Rod-Larsen’s two children, a total of $10 million.
‘Oslo was a trap’
For Palestinians living under the reality of the failed deals that Rod-Larsen forged, the scandal offers a disturbing explanation for a “peace process” that many believe was rigged.
Mustafa Barghouti, secretary general of the Palestinian National Initiative political party, told Al Jazeera that he was “not at all surprised” by the corruption allegations.
“We never felt comfortable with this person from the first moment,” Barghouti said. “Oslo was a trap… and I have no doubt that Terje Rod-Larsen was indeed influenced by the Israeli side all along.”
Barghouti argued that the revelation of millions of dollars potentially flowing from a Mossad-linked figure like Epstein to the Rod-Larsen family suggests the corruption was “aimed at serving the interests of Israel against the interests of the Palestinian people.”
Links between the disgraced Epstein and Israel have been highlighted following the publication of millions of documents.
The documents have revealed more details of Epstein’s interactions with members of the global elite, including former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. But they also document his funding of Israeli groups, including Friends of the IDF (Israeli Army) and the settler organization Jewish National Fund, as well as his ties to members of Israel’s foreign intelligence services, the Mossad.
The lost file
The scandal has revived calls in Norway to open the “private archive” that Rod-Larsen kept on the secret 1993 negotiations.
Media investigations have revealed that documents from the critical period between January and September 1993 are missing from the Foreign Ministry’s official archive. Critics argue that these missing files could obscure the extent to which personal influence or blackmail played a role in the concessions extracted from Palestinian leaders during the secret talks.
Govern by blackmail
Analysts argue that the Rod-Larsen case is symptomatic of a broader system of global governance driven by systematic blackmail and intelligence operations.
Wissam Afifa, a Gaza-based political analyst, drew a parallel between the exploitation of minors on Epstein’s island and the geopolitical treatment of Palestinians.
“We, as Palestinians, were treated as minors… considered as if we had no right to demand our rights,” Afifa said. “Today we discover that much of the international system is essentially ‘Epstein Island.’”
Afifa suggested that the “silence” of the international community regarding the current genocidal war in Gaza could be linked to similar networks of influence and extortion.
“The world was run from Epstein’s island… in dark rooms,” Afifa added. “We are victims of the network of influence that Epstein managed with politicians, leaders and states.”
As Norwegian authorities, including the Okokrim economic crimes unit, open investigations into the scandal, the legacy of the diplomat who once shook hands on the White House lawn lies in tatters, casting a long shadow over the history of the deeply flawed Middle East peace process.
