Complex sentence: Gaarder disputed the allegations of anti-semitism, and hurriedly sought to clarify that he didn't mean to offend anyone, claiming that the piece was written in a state of moral outrage over the death toll in Lebanon.
Split into simpler sentences: Gaarder disputed the allegations of anti-semitism, and sought to clarify that he didn't mean to offend anyone. He claimed that the piece was written in a state of moral outrage over the death toll in Lebanon.