Hungary is standing alone against its fellow European Union member states in support of the State of Israel, according to a report published by The Jerusalem Post.
The European Union has tried twice to reach a “consensus statement” condemning a planned Israeli military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where at least four battalions of the Hamas terrorist organization are deployed, and where it is believed many of the hostages kidnapped from Israel have been taken as well.
Hungary has voted both times against the statement, which calls for an “immediate humanitarian pause” in the war that would lead to a permanent ceasefire.
“Hungary stood alone in the EU,” senior diplomatic sources told The Jerusalem Post.
EU foreign policy chief Joseph Borrell had secured the support of 26 of the bloc’s 27 member states — but Hungary opposed the resolution, most recently on Monday.
According to the report, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz personally called his Hungarian counterpart, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, requesting his assistance to help the Jewish State block the statement.
Szijjártó assured Katz that Hungary had backed Israel, and said that he had “prevented it,” senior diplomatic sources said.
The sources added that recent public criticism of Israel by the United States has encouraged the EU to likewise take steps against the Jewish State.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting Monday, Borrell acknowledged that he failed to get a unanimous “consensus” on the proposed statement, but nevertheless maintained “there can be a position that is based on a big majority, and without being a formal EU position, it is nonetheless a majority position. And 26 out of 27 is indeed a majority position,” he said.
The European body is seeking to pressure Israel into an “immediate pause” that would “lead to a sustainable ceasefire.”
The statement, approved by 26 EU member states, urges Israel not to “take military action in Rafah that would worsen an already catastrophic humanitarian situation and prevent the urgently needed provision of basic services and humanitarian assistance.”
