Austria restores aid funds for Palestine, releasing $18.8M for 9 projects

By Timo Kirez

GENEVA (AA) - Austria announced on Thursday that it is restoring aid funds for Palestine and releasing €17.5 million (approximately $18.8 million) for nine projects that had been frozen by Vienna after the conflict between the Palestinian resistance group Hamas and the Israeli army began on Oct. 7.

The funds will be used for nine projects totaling €17.5 million (approximately $18.8 million), the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Austria initially froze the funds, but later reviewed the decision.

"The aim of this review was to ensure that not a single cent of Austrian taxpayers' money benefits Hamas or is used for anti-Israeli or ‘anti-Semitic propaganda,’" the ministry said.

Following the review, it was found that there were no indications that funds for Austrian projects had been misused.

However, cooperation with an NGO will be discontinued, the ministry said, without specifying the name of the organization. However, it said the organization is committed to increasing the participation of women in the labor market in Gaza.

The ministry accused the NGO of having "signed an anti-Israel declaration after October 7."

"The NGO, which has basically done impeccable work, can therefore obviously no longer be a partner for us," the statement said, adding that there will be no further cooperation with this organization.

"The review process has shown that the existing mechanisms basically work," the statement said, quoting Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, who added that the guideline for cooperation with Palestinian organizations is "zero tolerance for intolerance."