Austria releases $18.8 million for nine projects as it reinstates aid to Palestine

Foreign Ministry says it will stop working with an NGO that it claims’signed an anti-Israel proclamation after October 7′.

On Thursday, Austria declared that it was resuming aid to Palestine and releasing €17.5 million (about $18.8 million) for nine projects that Vienna had put on hold following the start of the confrontation between the Israeli army and the Palestinian resistance group on October 7.

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the money will be utilized for nine initiatives totaling €17.5 million (about $18.8 million).

Austria froze the money at first, but then changed its mind.

“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,’” said the ministry.

After the review, it was discovered that there were no signs of misappropriation of funding for projects in Austria.

Nonetheless, the ministry stated that collaboration with one NGO will end, without naming the group. Nonetheless, it stated that the group is dedicated to raising the proportion of women working in Gaza.

According to the ministry, the NGO “signed an anti-Israel declaration after October 7.”

The statement stated that there will be no more collaboration with the organization. “The NGO, which has basically done impeccable work, can therefore obviously no longer be a partner for us,” it said.

The statement quoted Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg as saying that “the review process has shown that the existing mechanisms basically work.” Schallenberg also stated that “zero tolerance for intolerance” is the rule for cooperating with Palestinian organizations.