Austria–Palestine relations are the bilateral relations between Austria and the State of Palestine. Austria does not fully recognize the Palestinian state declared in 1988.[1] Yet, around the same time, Austria raised the position of the head of the Palestinian mission to the level of ambassador.
In 1973, during a conference in London, Chancellor Bruno Kreisky called for Europe to play a role in the Middle East and declared his support for the creation of a state for the Palestinians. The PLO opened an office in Vienna in 1978, and Austria officially established relations with the organization in 1980.[2]
Chancellor Kreisky, who was a Jew himself, questioned Zionism as a solution to the problems faced by the Jewish people,[3] claiming that Jews were not an ethnic group or race, but rather a religious group.
Austria supported Palestine's application to join UNESCO in 2011.[4] It also supported Palestine's bid to obtain non-member observer status at the United Nations.[5] In April 2013, President Mahmoud Abbas visited Austria and was welcomed with military honors. Afterward, he met with the Federal President Heinz Fischer and the National Council President Barbara Prammer.[6][7]
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