“Israel has a right to defend itself. But even for defense there are limits and international law that must be observed.” This is what Heinz Fischer, Federal President from 2004 to 2016, said in an interview with the Austria Press Agency about the situation in the Middle East conflict after the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7th of the previous year.
Fischer expressly stated that the crimes of the radical Islamist terrorist organization Hamas, with around 1,200 dead and almost 250 abducted people, were “gigantic and unforgivable.”
Nevertheless, he believes the UN’s concerns about the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip are justified. “I think that the United Nations is right when it calls for compliance with international law and human rights. Especially when people, namely the civilian population, cannot flee the Gaza Strip,” says Fischer.
Fischer described the fact that Austria voted against a UN resolution in mid-December for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip as a “mistake.” “It is said that the resolution lacked an explicit condemnation of Hamas. That is true, but what is left out is that the resolution calls for a ceasefire, calls for humanitarian measures, for compliance with international law and, above all, calls for immediate action included the release of all hostages.” Fischer emphasized that this was important enough for almost all EU states – except the Czech Republic and Austria – not to vote against the resolution. This caused “a lot of astonishment and frowning” in Austria and internationally.
Fischer suspects that a solution to the Middle East conflict can only be achieved with the “two-state solution” that has been sought for a long time. This is currently a long way off. “But it seems to be the only viable option,” says Fischer.
The Federal Government’s rejection of the UN resolution was also criticized by SPÖ leader Andreas Babler. He was then asked by the President of the Jewish Community of Vienna (IKG), Oskar Deutsch, to “urgently recalibrate his compass” in order to avoid a “perpetrator-victim reversal.” Fischer explained: “I respect the particular concern of the President of the Israelite Community. But SPÖ chairman Andreas Babler does not need to recalibrate his compass. Rather, Oskar Deutsch should read the resolution in full and study the vote result in detail.”
