Israeli foreign minister slams Austrian president's war crimes claim over Gaza

Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar sharply rejected Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen's remarks in New York, where the president described Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip and West Bank as violations of international law and possible war crimes. Saar posted on X that Van der Bellen should be ashamed, arguing that a nation whose history includes the gravest crimes against humanity cannot levy such accusations against Israel, which is still fighting a jihadist axis.

He added that no Austrian citizen could be blamed for the president's statements. Oskar Deutsch, president of the Israelitische Kultusgemeinde, called Van der Bellen a friend of Israel but condemned his one-sided focus on alleged Israeli crimes, noting the omission of threats from Palestinian groups and Iran. The Austrian Freedom Party echoed criticism, with MP Harald Vilimsky and party leader Herbert Kickl denouncing the comments and highlighting prior invitations to Israeli Likud officials to a Strasbourg EU Parliament conference on Islamism and antisemitism. Israeli officials have generally avoided FPÖ representatives out of solidarity with Austrian Jews.