Israel - Austria Relations: Lifting of Sanctions Against Kneissl is Nearing

PeopleDiplomats ♦ Published: September 26, 2018; 20:00 ♦ (Vindobona)

According to information in the daily newspapers "Die Presse" and "Der Standard" on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, Israel plans to lift its ban on contacts with Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl. Netanyahu ordered Israeli authorities in December 2017 to refrain from contacts with FPÖ ministers. Although Kneissl is not a party member, she has been nominated by the Austrian Freedom Party FPÖ. However, the official Israeli contact ban will continue to apply to FPÖ government members.

Israel - Austria Relations about to improve? / Picture: © Israeli and Austrian crossed flags by Vindobona

Obviously, shortly before the meeting of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz in New York, it became public that Israel apparently intends to lift the previous contact ban on Foreign Minister Kneissl.

Immediately after the inauguration of the ÖVP-FPÖ coalition last December, Israel stopped all contacts with Austrian FPÖ…