Vienna, 8 January 2009 - "I am very relieved that the evacuation of an Austrian family of five, including three small children, from the Gaza Strip was successful in the second attempt", said Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger. The Austrians managed to leave the Gaza Strip in the morning hours of today via the Erez checkpoint situated in the North. "Our thanks go to our European partners, and in particular Germany, the EU Commission, and the EU Presidency,...
Moreover, the support of Canada and the International Committee of the Red Cross was also of central importance, yet also of the Israeli authorities, who made the evacuation possible despite ongoing hostilities." In addition, the Foreign Minister thanked the members of the Embassy in Tel Aviv, which went to great lengths to plan and support the evacuation of the Austrian dual citizens.
Out of a total of 460 EU dual citizens currently in the Gaza Strip, around 100 persons willing to leave were evacuated this morning from the embattled area. The five Austrians will now be transported in a bus of the European Union to the Jordanian-Israeli border accompanied by members of the Embassy, where they will travel back to Austria through Amman. Spindelegger stressed that the Embassy in Tel Aviv will continue its persistent efforts together with its international partners to evacuate two other Austrian families willing to leave the Gaza Strip.
Finally, in view of the ongoing Israeli ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, Spindelegger reiterated the demand for a quick ceasefire and a return to the negotiating table. "Enabling dual citizens to leave the Gaza Strip is one thing. Israel, however, also has the humanitarian duty to permanently secure the supply of the suffering population. We expect that Israel to keep its promise in this respect", said the Foreign Minister.
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