The Austrian Hospice Hospital, whose closing triggered a general strike in East Jerusalem, where it is located, and a strain in Israel-Austrian relations, will reopen as a full-scale hospital after renovation and modernization.
The Israeli government has rejected Arab charges that its decision to close the hospital was political. In a letter to UN Secretary-General Javier Peres de Cuellar, Israel stated yesterday that it was the out-of-date medical equipment and the inability of the building’s structure to accommodate an elevator that influenced the decision.
The reopening of the hospital as a modern facility is being made possible by an agreement reached between the Austrian Catholic Church, which owns the Hospice building, and the Jordanian authorities, according to the Austrian-Arab Friendship Society.
TERMS OF AGREEMENT
The terms of the agreement were worked out by Franz Cardinal Koenig, the Archbishop of Vienna, and Taher Kanaan, the Jordanian Minister for the Occupied Territories. According to the terms, a Board comprising representatives of the Austrian Catholic Church and citizens of East Jerusalem will supervise the hospital.
The hospital’s closing had led to a diplomatic tug-of-war between Israel and Austria. The Austrian Foreign Ministry sent a diplomatic note to Jerusalem protesting the decision as a violation of the sovereignty of the Austrian Church. Interior Minister Karl Blecha, who is also president of the Austrian-Arab Society here, a called the measure an act of arbitrariness.
The Austrian Church, in turn, was on the receiving end of fierce Arab criticism for its recent indication that it would like to use at least part of its Hospice building as a hostel and meeting-place for visitors to Jerusalem of all religions. It will be up to the Board supervising the hospital to decide on additional uses of the building.
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