Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said it is in the interest of the world that Israel’s counter-terrorist operations are successful, arguing that this would help to ensure that a similar terrorist attack never happened “anywhere ever again”.
After a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels, the foreign minister told a press conference that Hungary’s standpoint was “crystal clear”: what triggered the conflict in the Middle East must never be forgotten. “We find Israel’s objective to destroy Hamas not only understandable but also a legitimate interest of the world at large… People who use others, especially women and children, as human shields after mounting a terrorist attack should feel shame,” he said, calling for a swift return to the path set out by the Abraham Accords, namely the normalisation of relations between Israel and the Arab world. Hungary, he said, called for the “immediate and unconditional release of the hostages who are still in captivity”, noting that a Hungarian citizen was still being held captive. Hungary is in constant contact with Qatar and another important mediating country, he said, adding he would not name that country due to the sensitivity of hostage negotiations. Szijjártó also emphasised Hungary’s position that it found The Hague proceedings against Israel to be “nonsense”.