Hungary was the lone dissenting EU Member State to refuse to sign a joint declaration of EU foreign ministers calling on Israel not to attack the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip. Thus, the declaration is not politically binding, which would have required a 27-state consensus.
Israel has warned that it would launch a ground invasion of Rafah if the terror group Hamas does not let all Israeli hostages go by the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which starts on 10 March this year.
The city of Rafah has a year-round population of around 150,000 people. However, with the outbreak of the Hamas-Israeli war, its population ballooned up to 1.3 million people, with many displaced Palestinians seeking refuge there. Prime Minister Netanyahu has directed the Israeli Defence Forces to also take part in an evacuation effort for the civilians if the ground attack is indeed launched.
Earlier this month, Hungary and the Czech Republic blocked the proposed EU sanctions on Israeli citizens, barring them from entering the EU for supposed ‘violent’ behaviour in their Palestinian settlements. This time, however, Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský of Czechia folded, and went along with the Union’s declaration condemning Israel’s proposed military action.
This left Hungary alone in defending Israel within the Union.
According to The Jerusalem Post, Foreign Minister Israel Katz of Israel called his Hungarian counterpart, Péter Szijjártó over the phone while attending the Munich Security Conference. He reached out to ask for Hungary’s help in person, which Minister Szijjártó heeded.
Supporters of the Jewish state took to social media to express their gratitude for Hungary’s lone support for Israel within the EU. This image was posted to the social media site X (Twitter) by multiple accounts, garnering thousands of likes:
As for the people not pleased with the developments, EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell told reporters that ‘Without being a formal EU position, it is nonetheless a majority position. It is significant,’ as quoted by the EU Observer.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel of Luxembourg has warned that Israel would be ‘losing the last support they have in the world’ if they went along with the Rafah attack. His Irish counterpart Micheál Martin called the proposed ground invasion ‘unconscionable’.
Hungary’s Unwavering Support for Israel
Since the horrific series of attacks by Hamas on Israel on 7 October last year, the Hungarian government has been standing by the Jewish state time and time again, despite many Western powers giving in to progressive pressure and backing down from whole-heartedly siding with the Jewish state.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was among the first world leaders to show his moral support to Israel in public. Hungary was among the 14 states voting against an immediate ceasefire in the UN General Assembly, objecting to the fact that the resolution did not stipulate the immediate release of Israeli hostages clearly enough. Also, unlike in many Western countries, pro-Palestinian protests were not permitted in Hungary, as PM Orbán declared they would be ‘sympathetic to terrorists’.
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