Schallenberg in the Middle East

“There is no forced marriage in peace”

Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP) visited a "Hostages Square" on Tuesday during his trip to the Middle East.(Bild: APA/BMEIA/MICHAEL GRUBER)

Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP) met with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh on Wednesday during his trip to the Middle East. For the Austrian top diplomat, it is clear that the time is not yet ripe for the Alpine republic to recognize the state of Palestine.

"There is no forced marriage in peace," Schallenberg said on Wednesday after a meeting with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh in Ramallah. The latter had advocated a peace solution enforced by the international community with recognition of Palestine as a first step.

Asked whether Austria could also take a stand against Israel on the recognition issue, Schallenberg said that such a step "must be part of a process" and could not be taken by Austria alone. "This is a shot that can only be fired once," said Schallenberg. "Firstly, it has to make a difference, secondly, it has to come at the end of the process." Otherwise, recognition would only be something "that might generate brief attention, but would not change anything in the matter itself".

In contrast to Israel, the Palestinians are in favor of an "imposed solution" to the conflict, Schallenberg reported from his conversation with Shtayyeh. "They don't actually want a political process. They say: it won't work, we can't do it on our own," the Foreign Minister said, referring to the repeated unsuccessful attempts at a peace solution over the past three decades.

Humanitarian pauses to enable hostage releases
In Jerusalem, the Foreign Minister met with Israeli Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi on Wednesday morning. As Schallenberg announced on Twitter, the talks focused in particular on humanitarian pauses to enable aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages. "It is also essential to have a credible plan for the protection of civilians in Rafah," Schallenberg reiterated.

Schallenberg came to Ramallah with a new Gaza aid package worth ten million euros. The aid payments have amounted to 23 million euros since October and are thus many times more than the regular development aid for the Palestinian territories, as the Deputy Head of the Austrian representation in Ramallah, Oliver Walter, confirmed to journalists. The development cooperation agency ADA has an annual budget of around five million euros for Palestine, which is used to finance projects for women or water treatment, for example. For example, the construction of a seawater desalination plant was planned in the Gaza Strip, but this is currently not possible due to the war.