Due to the armed conflict in Israel, more than 550 Hungarians have been evacuated from the Middle Eastern country.Continue reading
The Government will continue to demand that special Hungarian aspects of the situation in Israel be asserted in all international forums, as the release of hostages of Hungarian nationality and the evacuation of those in the Gaza Strip are of primary importance, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in Brussels.
The Minister stressed at a press conference during the break of the Foreign Affairs Council that the positions of the member states on the Israeli situation are quite different, except for a few fundamental points, but at the same time it should not be forgotten, and especially not relativized, how and why the armed conflict started. He then pointed out that
the success of military operations is not only in the interest of Israel, but of the whole world.
Péter Szijjártó underlined that the government would demand that the specific Hungarian viewpoints be asserted in all international forums. One of these is that there are still seven persons of Hungarian nationality in the Gaza Strip who cannot leave the area for security reasons.
“Contacts with them are ongoing. Unfortunately, a few days ago their residence was hit. Several of them suffered minor injuries and required hospital treatment.
They have all been able to leave the hospital and are currently making arrangements to somehow reach the Rafah crossing point,”
he emphasized.
The Minister added that he had also reached an agreement with the Israeli and Egyptian foreign ministers that, if successful, the seven and two Palestinian family members would be allowed to leave the region.
“Obviously, we can only support resolutions and proposals for solutions in any international organization that call on Hamas to release the hostages unconditionally and immediately.
We cannot support any resolution, any proposed solution that does not include this,”
he highlighted.
Péter Szijjártó went on to say that the international community has a vital responsibility to prevent an escalation of the conflict, as the consequences of an inter-state war in the Middle East would be completely unpredictable.
“I do not think anyone wants that situation, especially as security challenges are emerging in more and more parts of the world, and the more of them there are, the greater the risk that the world could be on the brink of a third world war,” he warned.
Finally, the politician touched on the importance of supporting Egypt, pointing out that a destabilization of the North African country would have a dramatic impact on the security situation in Europe, where Cairo is playing a major role in containing the flow of illegal migrants. “If Egypt loses its stability and cannot continue to play this bastion role, the continent could face migratory pressures and therefore a security challenge that I see the European Union as less able to address at this time,” he said.
In this context, he stressed that
this is why Hungary is supporting the medical care of people arriving in Egypt from Gaza to the tune of HUF 40 million (EUR 105,942).
Via MTI, Featured image via Wikipedia