EXCLUSIVE PICTURES

On Wednesday, April 6, the Austrian Foreign Minister, Michael Spindelegger, arrived in the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing with Egypt.

Mr Spindelegger is set to hold talks with a number of organisations and officials including - the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), representatives of civil society organisations and businessmen. Discussions will focus on the latest humanitarian, political, and economic developments in the sector. The Austrian Foreign Minister is also scheduled to visit a school and a water desalination plant in central Gaza.

Mr Spindelegger is one of the few European officials to have been allowed into Gaza through the Rafah crossing. European and American figures usually choose to enter the strip via the Beit Hanoun crossing with Israel.

European officials visiting Gaza are strictly limited to holding meetings with UNRWA representatives or businessmen and do not meet with representatives of the Palestinian government in Gaza.

MEMO Photographer: Mohammed Asad