AustriaâPalestine 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. In 1980, Austria established relations with the
Palestine Liberation Organisation.
Chancellor Kreisky, who was a Jew himself, questioned
Zionism as a solution to the problems faced by the Jewish people,[2] 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.[3] It also supported
Palestine's bid to obtain
non-member observer status at the United Nations.[4] 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.[5][6]