By Salih Okuroglu
VIENNA (AA) - A total of 26 Austrian diplomats, including two former foreign ministers, on Thursday called on the government in Vienna to impose sanctions on Israel over its actions in Gaza.
In a letter to the Austrian government, the group – among them Benita Ferrero-Waldner and Peter Jankowitsch – cited what they described as overwhelming evidence of humanitarian abuses.
“The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza has been confirmed even by the UN, aid organizations and the Red Cross: more than half a million people are on the verge of starvation. Countless survivors – and even Israeli soldiers – are reporting systematic war crimes,” the diplomats wrote.
They said denying mass killings of civilians in Gaza despite the evidence was “inhumane” and “insincere,” and criticized the use of starvation as a weapon.
“The Israeli leadership openly defends the general bombardment of densely populated areas, residential districts, and hospitals as a defense strategy in which the gravest war crimes are committed,” the letter said.
The former officials argued that Austria, as a neutral UN member, has a responsibility to defend international law.
“Whether in Ukraine or Gaza: whoever silently accepts the gravest violations in one place cannot credibly demand the enforcement of law elsewhere,” they wrote.
The group warned that words of goodwill were ineffective without concrete steps, calling for suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, related funding programs and the introduction of targeted sanctions.
The letter also referred to a recent appeal by 206 former EU ambassadors urging Europe to take “immediate and concrete measures” against Israel’s “unlawful actions” in Gaza and the West Bank. Austria, they said, could not remain an exception.
Israel has killed nearly 63,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023, devastated the enclave and triggered a famine.
The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.