Netanyahu asks Stocker to postpone planned Israel trip

Background: The death of Lindsey Graham

Background to the justification is the death of the Republican Senator for South Carolina. The office of the Republican Senator for South Carolina had announced that he died as a result of a vascular disease. Lindsay Graham died unexpectedly over the weekend at the age of 71. Just hours before his death, the Trump confidant had visited Ukraine.

Originally, according to an insider, Netanyahu had wanted to travel to the USA on Saturday. He was said to be seeking a meeting with US President Donald Trump there. Surprisingly, the news agency Reuters reported on Thursday that Netanyahu would not be travelling to the USA after all, because Graham's funeral had been postponed to the end of the month. It was considered uncertain whether the meeting between Netanyahu and Trump would take place.

Scrapped US trip and uncertain Trump meeting

Federal Chancellor Stocker had spoken with Netanyahu by phone in May. In the conversation, Netanyahu had renewed his invitation to Stocker to come to Israel. After the phone call, Stocker told journalists: "Gemeinsam sei Israel und Österreich das Ziel, dass der Iran keine Atomwaffen, kein atomwaffenfähiges Material und möglichst wenig konventionelle Raketen haben müsse, betonte Stocker im Anschluss vor Journalisten."

The postponement is part of a series of last-minute changes of plans in relations between Vienna and Jerusalem. As recently as January, the originally scheduled trip had to be cancelled because Netanyahu had to appear in court. The fact that another visit is now being postponed within half a year underscores the volatile scheduling situation.

Open questions about the new date

No concrete details were initially known about the new date for the Israel trip. Nor were there any confirmed details about possible postponements to the planned meeting with US President Trump beyond the Reuters report. Neither the Federal Chancellery in Vienna nor the government press office in Jerusalem issued official statements on the new travel plans on Thursday.

The Austrian Press Agency (APA) picked up the report from "The Times of Israel" and dated it 16 July 2026. This puts the postponed visit in a phase in which Stocker already has several international trips on his agenda. According to APA information, the coming week would have been the originally scheduled period for the inaugural visit to Israel.

Previous contacts between Stocker and Netanyahu

According to observers, the request for postponement is likely to further strain the already tight schedules on both sides. While Netanyahu wants to attend the funeral in the USA, it remains unclear when the long-overdue direct contact between Stocker and the Israeli leadership in Jerusalem can be made up.

At the same time, the postponement throws a spotlight on the personal relations between the two heads of government. As recently as May, Stocker had emphasised the strategic partnership between the two countries in his phone call with Netanyahu. The fact that the trip now has to be postponed once again points to ongoing scheduling difficulties on the Israeli side.