Meinl-Reisinger in Israel: steps to stability in the Middle East

Meinl-Reisinger in Israel: steps to stability in the Middle East

Jerusalem, Israel - Beate Meinl-Reisinger, the Foreign Minister of NEOS, ended her Middle East trip lasting several days on June 30, 2025 with a decisive conclusion in Jerusalem. This journey, which also included visits to Cyprus and Egypt, marked the first visit to the Israel of a Foreign Minister since the beginning of the current conflict with Iran. In Jerusalem, Meinl-Reisinger met her Israeli counterpart Gideon Saar and carried out a joint press conference, in which she described the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip as "unbearable". According to vienna.at she sees a solution for the problems in the Gaza strip as a key to stability in the entire region.

The minister plans to represent clear positions on the situation in the Gaza Strip. It underlined the central importance of the resumption of aid deliveries to Gaza for the EU and appealed to the international community to have talks with Israel. Your visit takes place against the background of a current attack by Hamas on Israel, which began on October 7, 2023 and resulted in a variety of serious incidents, including hostage frames and civilian victims. Almost 100 hostages are still captured by Hamas, and in Gaza the humanitarian conditions are always catastrophic, such as ZDF.

planned activities and conversations in Jerusalem

As part of her program in Jerusalem, Meinl-Reisinger visits the impact site in Bat Yam and has discussions with the team of the Austrian Embassy in Tel Aviv. An important point of her trip is visiting the Hostage Square, where she speaks to the freed-up Austrian-Israeli Hamas-Geisel Tal Shoham. On the evening of the last day, Meinl-Reisinger plans a visit to the Knesset, the Israeli parliament. In addition, your stay in Jerusalem is complemented by discussions with the Palestinian Foreign Minister Vars Aghabekian-Shaheen in the West Bank and a wreath resolution at the Holocaust Memorial Yad Vashem.

Meinl-Reisinger emphasizes the role of Jordan as "pole of stability, dialogue and diplomacy" in the region and is planning talks with the Jordan Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi. This diplomacy is considered crucial to make progress in conflict management. The minister had already communicated by phone on Saturday with the Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and appealed to him to comply with the ceasefire with Israel. Vienna is proposed as a potential place for future negotiations with Iran, which underlines Austria's diplomatic efforts, according to [Kurier.at] (https://kurier.at/phalk/ausland/meinl-reisinger-aussenminister- israel-iran/403054039).

background of the conflict

The conflict between Israel and Hamas is deeply rooted and recently achieved a new dimension through the military conflicts, which escalated in October 2023. The self -proclaimed terrorist organization Hamas strives to sabotage peace treatments between Israel and Arab countries. In response to the incidents, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Hamas had to be "wiped out". The conflict also affected the neighboring countries affected, with the Lebanon increasingly involved in the arguments and the Hisbollah fights against Israel.

political responsibility for the attacks, which are largely regarded as failure of the Israeli security authorities, was intensively discussed in Israeli society. The international pressure on Israel is growing, especially with regard to compliance with international law and humanitarian aid for the civilian population in Gaza. It remains to be seen how the diplomatic initiatives of Meinl-Reisinger and other international actors can help find a solution to the pressing questions in the Middle East.