Israel "deeply disappointed" with Austria

Israeli ambassador Aviv Shir-On said his country is "deeply disappointed" with Austria for its behaviour in the UN Human Rights Council. "It's very painful that Austria went along" with the council's vote on Israel's settlement policy in occupied West Jordan, the ambassador said in the newspaper Die Presse. He thought it "completely incomprehensible" that Austria, in contrast to Germany, did not show solidarity with Israel". In the recent past Austria had no longer taken a "balanced" position on Israel, Shir-On charged. That had already been shown last autumn when Austria went along with the two-thirds majority deciding on Palestine's full membership of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris. On the UN Human Rights Council, the ambassador said it was "a hotbed of hypocrisy" with "automatic majorities against Israel". This week the Israelis broke of all connections with the UN Human Rights Council after it decided to investigate Israel's internationally-disputed settlement policy. Last Thursday the Council made its decision in Geneva with 36 "yes" votes to one against (United States) and ten abstentions. Israel promptly said it would bar the members of a commission of inquiry from entry. According to the EU, the expansion of Israeli settlements in the Palestinian areas is one of the main hindrances on the way to a peaceful solution in the region.