Islamic Community criticises Israel mission

IGGiÖ president Fuat Sanac said he was “astonished” that such a trip went ahead.

Deutsch took ten Austrians to the south of Israel, and visited wounded civilians and soldiers in the Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon, as well as an Iron Dome site that protects approximately 500,000 people from Hamas rocket attacks.

Sanac said that the IGGiÖ stands for peace and encourages its members not to incite against other faiths.

He took objection to some of Deutsch’s remarks about the trip, and said that it was counterproductive to travel to a war zone and make such statements about Gaza and Hamas.

“In Gaza, the Israeli army is facing a terrorist regime that oppresses its own people and sends them to death,” Deutsch said in a statement. "We are showing millions of Israelis that we are standing behind them and are grateful to them, as Jews and as Austrians."

Sanac said there had been a heated debate on social media about the trip and asked for people to calm down and try not to be provoked by such statements, and adhere to the peaceful teachings of Islam.

Hamas, which controls Gaza, is demanding an end to the Israeli and Egyptian blockade of the territory. 

More than 2,000 people, mostly Palestinians, have been killed since the Gaza conflict began on July 8th.