‘Israel stands with Austria,’ Netanyahu tells Kurz after Vienna attack
The prime minister made the remarks ahead of his meeting with Romanian Prime Minister Ludovic Orban, who is visiting Jerusalem for the first time.
By LAHAV HARKOVIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with Romanian Prime Minister Ludovic Orban at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, 03.11.2020.(photo credit: KOBI GIDEON/GPO)
Israel and Austria are sharing intelligence in the aftermath of a shooting at a Vienna synagogue late Monday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday.Netanyahu said he spoke to Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and told him: “The people of Israel stand with Austria… against the savagery of Islamist terrorism. We are cooperating in every way, with our intelligence and every other way we can.”The prime minister made the remarks ahead of his meeting with Romanian Prime Minister Ludovic Orban, who was in Jerusalem for the first time as premier.The two leaders signed an agreement to stop double taxation between their countries, which “enhances trade and investments very rapidly,” Netanyahu said.He spoke of cooperation between the two countries in cybersecurity, water management, agriculture, health, space and other fields.Orban spoke of efforts to “develop economic relations and strengthen our cooperation in defense and security.”Netanyahu thanked Romania for helping Israel over the years present a “reasonable argument” before other EU member states.Romania is one of four Balkan countries with which Netanyahu has fostered a sub-alliance in recent years to counter hostility from Brussels. Romania, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia, which is not yet an EU member, are known as the Craiova Group, named for the Romanian city where the countries’ leaders held their first summit in 2015.Following Israel’s normalization with three Arab states in recent months, “there is a different view of the situation here in the Middle East than some of the traditional bureaucracies of the EU,” Netanyahu said. “We will continue to appreciate your help to explain the changing situation in the Middle East to the EU.”“Romania supports Israel in its aim to strengthen ties with the EU,” Orban said.
