Due to the armed conflict in Israel, more than 550 Hungarians have been evacuated from the Middle Eastern country.Continue reading
President of the Republic Katalin Novák paid a solidarity visit to Israel on Sunday, during which she stressed that what happens to Israel can never be indifferent to Hungarians.
At the beginning of her visit, Israeli President Isaac Herzog received Hungarian Head of State Katalin Novák, who arrived in Israel on a solidarity visit, at his residence in Jerusalem. As Isaac Herzog said, his Hungarian counterpart arrived at the saddest time in Israel’s history, one month after the “unimaginable, barbaric, unacceptable” terrorist attack by the Islamist Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip, killing the most Jews in one day since the Holocaust. He thanked Novák for the visit, saying that Israel would not forget that Hungary stands by the country’s side in these difficult times, nor that Teodor Herzl, the man who formed the Jewish state, was born in Budapest, Hungary.
Novák stressed Israel’s right to defend itself and condemned the Hamas attack. She described the atrocities of October 7 as shocking, and stressed that the images of terror were condemned by all in Hungary, regardless of party sympathies, and expressed her support for the Israeli President.
She emphasized that
we should not negotiate with terrorists, but in the fight against them we must protect civilian lives.
My message from Jerusalem. pic.twitter.com/IAkbLovhTw
— Katalin Novák (@KatalinNovak_HU) November 5, 2023
Herzog stressed that if Israel did not stand in the way of terrorists, the whole of Europe would be their next target. Furthermore, he also reiterated Israel’s support for humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza.
He said that Hamas is in breach of the Geneva Convention, and therefore Israel knows nothing about the Israelis abducted from the zone, while Israel is creating a security zone to protect civilians.
Thank you President of Hungary @KatalinNovak_HU for coming to Israel in support and solidarity with the Israeli people as we mark one month since Hamas’s barbaric attack.
We appreciate your friendship and your clear call for the immediate release of the hostages as a key… pic.twitter.com/QphfwfAB11
— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) November 5, 2023
Novák stressed to both the Israeli President and later to the relatives of the kidnapped Hungarian hostages that as a mother of three, she was particularly pained by the suffering of the hostages’ families. She expressed her deep solidarity with the relatives and listened to the story told by a mother of her 8 and 15 year old daughters who were kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 from a kibbutz near the zone.
She also heard the story of a 47-year-old father who was told by Hamas that if he went along with them without protest, they would not kill his wife and children. Since then, his family knows nothing about his whereabouts, as well as the fate of the third Hungarian hostage.
Novák promised to do everything she could not only for them, but also for all the Israeli hostages.
Via MTI, Featured image: MTI/Sándor-palota/Bartos Gyula