Austrian delegation visits Gaza to observe humanitarian situation

Representative of Austria to Palestine Oscar Westneger and commercial attaché Christian Lassnig promised during a visit on Friday to the besieged Gaza Strip to convey the image of the humanitarian situation there to the international community.

Westneger promised during his meeting with Palestinian officials at the chamber of commerce to study the projects tabled by the chamber and to develop appropriate programs to help and support the private sector in Gaza.

For his part, Mohamed Al-Qidwa, the head of the chamber, briefed the Austrian delegation on the nature of the humanitarian situation in Gaza under the Israeli blockade especially after the war.

Qidwa urged the delegation to consider the possibility of supporting future projects aimed to revive the private sector in Gaza which was badly affected by the blockade and the war.

The Palestinian official explained how the segment of importers were the most sector affected by the blockade, saying that Israel still refuses to release more than 1,000 containers held at the Israeli port of Ashdod, which led to the damage of all goods as a result of poor storage.

In another context, different organizations in Austria organized on Friday a symposium in Vienna on the issue of Palestinian prisoners in the context of activities and events held throughout the European continent to revive the year of Palestinian prisoners.

Academic Oliver Zadeh, a member of an Austrian anti-racism organization named the South House, talked during the symposium about some aspects of the suffering of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and the violations of international law committed against them.

Among the attendees in this event were Abdullah Al-Ashaal, a professor of international law at the American university in Cairo, Italian artist John Falesi, American activist Paula Hourani and many others.

The speakers highlighted in their speeches the incarceration conditions in Israeli jails and called for urgent international intervention to save the lives of Palestinian prisoners and to pressure Israel to stop violating their rights and treat them according to the Geneva convention.