Young and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurtz has been going through long and difficult days since forming his second government in early January this year.
Shortly after the formation of the precedent-setting coalition in Europe between a conservative party, led by him, and the Greens, the corona plague began – which is now hitting Austria again, more forcefully, in a way that must impose a fairly broad closure across the country.
Documentation: The shooting near a synagogue in Vienna
On Tuesday evening, shortly before the closure, the Islamist terrorist attack in the historic heart of Vienna took place, ending in at least four casualties and about 20 wounded, some seriously. Despite the retrospective state of emergency in Austria, and in the shadow of the intensive investigations that continue in the effort to find out whether the killed terrorist acted alone or was part of a terrorist cell, the Chancellor – a great friend of Israel – found time to give an interview to Israel Today.
“The terrorist attack in Vienna, which is clearly an Islamist terrorist attack, is not an isolated case but part of a system of numerous attacks carried out against Europe,” says Kurtz. “This is an attack on our democracy, on our basic values, on the European model of life. We will not be able to intimidate these acts of terrorism, we will hunt down anyone who gave their hand to this attack and we will bring them to justice.”
“It is not possible to rule out the possibility that the attack had an antisemitic background. We know that it was an Islamic terrorist attack, the threat expressed loyalty to ISIS and the attack began right in front of the synagogue in Vienna. Antisemitic background. “
“Throughout the night after the attack, special units conducted searches in private homes, and 14 people from around the attack were arrested. In the coming days, we will know if there was a broader organization behind the attack and who he had contact with. I would like to explicitly thank Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who did not “He only expressed his condolences to us, but ensured the full cooperation of the Israeli authorities and intelligence services.”
“Now we need to find out how it happened.”
“Macron and I are in touch. It is important not only to fight terrorism but also the ideology behind terrorism. We must fight political Islam, that is, radical Islamism, as it is an ideology that has a deep hatred for our model of life and our free society.”
“Excellent cooperation at the political level, as well as the various authorities. I am very grateful for the support that Israel gives us, especially in this area, and for providing us with its knowledge on the subject.”
“The Corona virus is a huge challenge for the whole world, for all European countries. For us in Austria this has been the main issue for months. The virus is causing an economic crisis in many countries. But right now our thoughts are with the victims of the attack, and we will do everything “.
“The results of democratic elections are always important, and the bigger these democracies are, the greater the importance to the rest of the world. But we in Austria now have other concerns and we will concentrate on them.”
The terrorist acted alone
Vienna resembled a ghost town yesterday. The magnificent boulevards and picturesque alleys of the first quarter, the historic center of the Austrian capital, which became the scene of an Islamist bloodbath last night, were almost completely empty. Residents of the district responded to the authorities’ call to lock themselves in their homes, fearing that the terrorist who was neutralized by police at the end of nine long minutes of a shooting attack rolling between restaurants and crowded places of entertainment did not act alone.
Last night, a lull came from Interior Minister Carl Nahmer: The 20-year-old terrorist, Koitim Paisoulay, who carried out the attack in which four civilians were killed – two women and two men – acted alone.
A raid shortly after he was neutralized on the apartment where he lived in a large apartment building on the outskirts of Vienna, revealed that before he left to carry out the attack, the terrorist swore allegiance to the new leader of ISIS, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashmi Al-Qurayishi.
As stated, according to the information accumulated by the Austrian security authorities, the terrorist – a native of Vienna, of Albanian-Macedonian descent – acted on his own. However, last night ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack and said it was carried out by a “soldier of the caliphate” – the Islamic State. The weapon with which he carried out the attack was purchased by the perpetrator in Slovakia, Austria’s neighbor.
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