Austria and Germany have suspended aid to Palestinians in response to the Islamist group Hamas’s deadly attack on Israel.
Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said the country was suspending aid totaling around 19 million euros for a handful of projects. He said the suspension was due to the “horrific” extent of the terror and that they could not go back to business as usual.
“The extent of the terror is so horrific … that we cannot go back to business as usual. We will therefore put all payments from Austrian development cooperation on ice for the time being,” Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said
German Development Minister Svenja Schulze said no payments were currently being made to Palestinian aid projects, but she did not say whether this meant Germany was freezing aid.
She said they were reviewing everything again and contacting their partners in Palestine.
Austria and Germany condemned the Hamas attack on Israel, which killed 700 Israelis and abducted dozens. Israel retaliated with its heaviest-ever bombardment of Gaza, killing more than 400 people.
