In an official statement of the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Government of Hungary expressed its disagreement with the recent findings of the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice.

On 19 July 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a nonbinding advisory opinion declaring Israel’s presence in the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem as ‘unlawful’, accusing Israel of ‘systemic discrimination against Palestinians’, and calling for an end to its occupation. The court, led by Lebanese jurist and politician Nawaf Salam, further opined that Israel’s ‘policies and practices’ in the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem, including ‘the maintenance and expansion of settlements’, amount to the ‘annexation of large parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.’

The ruling marked the first time an international court has ruled on the legality of the Israeli presence in areas that Israel gained control in 1967, after defending itself against an alliance of Arab nations in the Six Day War.

This decision has sparked significant criticism from Israeli officials and international experts, who argue that

it undermines Israel’s right to self-defence and disregards the historical and security context of the region.

‘The Jewish people are not occupiers in their own land—not in our eternal capital Jerusalem, not in the land of our ancestors in Judea and Samaria. No false decision in The Hague will distort this historical truth, just as the legality of Israeli settlement in all the territories of our homeland cannot be contested,’ Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argued, slamming the ICJ’s ruling.

‘Ignoring the history that led to Israeli control of the West Bank and Israeli attempts to achieve peace with the Palestinians, the ICJ assigned all the blame and responsibilities to Israel and all the rights to the Palestinians. This would be like criticizing Israel for recent Palestinian deaths while ignoring Hamas’s October 7 massacre, which is the premise of a separate ICJ case,’ FDD Research Manager and Senior Research Analyst David May claimed.

The Hungarian government has also strongly contested the advisory opinion, claiming that the ICJ’s decision is politically motivated and poses a threat to regional security and stability,

potentially exacerbating tensions in the already volatile region.

In the following, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s official press release is quoted without changes:

‘The Government of Hungary expresses its disagreement with the findings of the International Court of Justice in the Advisory Opinion on the legal consequences arising from the policies and practices of Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, delivered on 19 July at The Hague.

Hungary regrets that the Court—contrary to our request—did not decline providing Advisory Opinion. We are of the view that the Advisory Opinion of the Court may directly contribute to the escalation of the ongoing conflict. Using the Court as part of a communication war in one of the most severe conflicts of recent history creates new dividing lines and will continue to fuel tensions. The Court should have declined to exercise its jurisdiction in this case.

It should be clear that there is no alternative to a political solution based on direct negotiations between the parties of the conflict in the Middle East. We regret that the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice does not take us closer to such a political solution. 

The decision of the Court to render an Advisory Opinion inevitably results in the unduly politicization of the work of this esteemed institution of an otherwise strictly judicial character. The Advisory Opinion delivered on 19 July considerably narrows the ability of the Court to contribute to the maintenance of global peace and security in the future.’

This is not the first time Hungary has defended Israel in international bodies. In recent years Hungary has vetoed several EU and UN resolutions and opinions, when it considered them to be biased and unilateral statements on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

As reported by Hungarian Conservative, at the end of June a conference was scheduled by the outgoing High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, in which he planned to pass resolutions condemning Israel’s actions in its war against Hamas in Gaza. However, due to diplomatic efforts involved Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz appealing to his Hungarian counterpart, Péter Szijjártó, as well as the foreign ministers of Germany, Greece, the Czech Republic, and Austria, the conference was delayed and will only be held when Borrell leaves office.

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