Statements made by Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York turned into a severe diplomatic crisis with Israel, after he accused it of committing “war crimes” in Gaza and the West Bank.
According to a report by journalist Itamar Eichner published by the Israeli website “ynet”, Van der Bellen’s statements came during a joint press conference with Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker and Foreign Minister Beate Meinel-Reisinger. Austrian media confirmed that the president described the Israeli moves as violations of international law, noting that the acceleration of illegal settlement and violence against Palestinians in the West Bank “are classified as war crimes.” While he considered that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government was moving into a “dangerous zone” that was useless in the long term, he stressed that his words did not question Israel’s right to exist, refusing to hold all Israelis responsible for their government’s policies.
On the other hand, the Israeli Foreign Minister, Gideon Saar, responded in a strong tone via the “X” platform, calling on the Austrian president to be “ashamed.” Sa’ar invoked Austrian history and his country’s role in the crimes committed against the Jewish people, describing his statements as “hateful nonsense” and directing “false accusations” against Israel in its war against a “jihadi axis,” while continuing to say that Austrian citizens should not be held responsible for their president’s positions.
However, the official Israeli response was met with objections in internal political circles. The report quoted senior officials in Jerusalem as not being comfortable with the escalation against the head of a country that is considered one of Israel’s most prominent friends in Europe. They said: “It is not possible to attack the head of a friendly country in this way,” warning that Israeli diplomacy is alienating its friends under the illusion of being able to go it alone, which could lead to sanctions and dangerous international movements against Tel Aviv.
On the Austrian side, the head of the Jewish community in Austria, Oscar Deutsch, entered the crisis line with a more moderate tone, describing Van der Bellen as a “true friend,” but criticized his unilateral accusations and his ignoring of the existential threats that Israel faces from Palestinian organizations and Iran. Deutsch also pointed out that the Austrian anti-Semitism body AMeldestelle documented about 1,532 incidents during 2025, more than three-quarters of which were linked to Israel.
In an indication of the presence of internal differentiation in Vienna, the Austrian Chancellor’s Office announced its reservations about the wording of the president’s statements, stressing in a statement that Austria has a historical responsibility towards Israel, and that its right to exist is not questionable, just like Vienna’s commitment to international law, whose violations are decided solely by the courts.
The repercussions of the crisis were not limited to bilateral relations only, but rather it opened the door to discussion within Israel about the limits of diplomatic response with friendly countries, amid growing sensitivity between Tel Aviv and European capitals regarding the repercussions of the war and the settlement file.
