Austria defends Golan pullout as last soldiers return

VIENNA: Austria defended on Wednesday its controversial decision to withdraw from the UN peacekeeping force on the Golan Heights, as its last soldiers returned home ending a nearly 40-year mission.
“The (UN) blue helmet force’s impartiality is no longer undisputed by partners on the ground, and we can neither ensure the soldiers’ supply nor their safety,” Defense Minister Gerald Klug told the Austria Press Agency.
Klug said he had repeatedly told the UN about the poor security situation in the cease-fire zone monitored by the peacekeepers, with war raging next door in Syria, and that nothing had been done to improve it.
Austria feared that violence between rebels and government forces in Syria could spill into the border zone or trigger clashes with Israel.
Vienna announced on June 6 that it would withdraw some 380 troops because of deteriorating security, drawing condemnation from Israel and surprise from the UN, which had not been warned in advance.
Austria has been one of the cornerstones of the UN force which was established in 1974 to monitor the cease-fire that marked the end of the 1973 Israeli-Arab war.
In that time, some 29,000 soldiers from Austria served with the UN, and 27 were killed.
“No other country can demonstrate this kind of commitment,” Klug said as he welcomed home the last returning 44 soldiers, including the UN force’s deputy commander Stefan Thaller.
Fiji has said it will send additional forces to prop up the mission, which also saw seen Japan and Croatia withdraw its troops.
The Philippines, which had considered a pullout after the kidnapping of several of its peacekeepers in May, said Wednesday it would likely remain in place.
Israel has occupied the Golan since 1967, but its annexation of the Syrian territory has never been recognized.