Widely respected for his activism and argumentative style, he has accused Israel of "ethnic cleansing," stated that it is "creating terror" by cultivating extremism "as if in a greenhouse in the Palestinian areas". Supporters of Israel such as Jo Benkow have criticised his views as partisan and unapologetically pro-Palestinian. Willoch has also stated that, though "there are strong reasons to warn against the new antisemitism, it will not strengthen Israel's cause to accuse critics of Israeli politics of antisemitism". He also claims that Israel indirectly contributes to antisemitism stating that "It would be naïve to ignore that Israel's politics towards the Palestinians has become a new source of negative attitudes." In May 2006, Willoch invited Atef Adwan, an official in Hamas to a private luncheon at Det Norske Selskab, commenting that "A dialogue with Hamas is very useful."