Conflict in Israel: Rethinking of Security Policy Is Necessary

Budapest’s Chain Bridge was lit up in Israeli colors on Monday. Featured image: MAZSIHISZ Facebook

Hungarian politicians expressed solidarity with Israel on Monday, placing the assault on the Jewish state in a wider geopolitical context. The European Commission is suspending EU aid to Palestinians with immediate effect, Olivér Várhelyi, EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy, announced in a post on X (Twitter) on Monday afternoon. “Incitement to hatred, violence and the glorification of terror have poisoned the minds of too many. We must act, and we must act now,” Olivér Várhelyi wrote in his post.

The scale of terror and brutality against #Israel and its people is a turning point.

There can be no business as usual.

As the biggest donor of the Palestinians, the European Commission is putting its full development portfolio under review, worth a total of EUR 691m
⤵️

— Oliver Varhelyi (@OliverVarhelyi) October 9, 2023

“The European Commission, the largest donor to the Palestinian people, is reviewing its entire development aid portfolio of €691 million: All payments will be suspended with immediate effect, all projects will be reviewed.” The European Commission also issued an official press release Monday evening announcing the urgent review of financial assistance to Palestinians. The review aims to ensure that EU funding “does not indirectly enable any terrorist organization to carry out attacks against Israel.”

We fully support Israel in its struggle for its territorial sovereignty, security, and right to defense, Chancellery Minister Gergely Gulyás stressed Monday at the International Pro-Israel Summit in Budapest. He also pointed out that terrorists from Gaza could enter Europe if the borders were not protected. In this context, he mentioned that in several Western European countries, a large number of migrants who have come to the country have celebrated the events in Israel.

If Europe does not take into account its own security interests, it could become a loser in this conflict,”

the Minister stressed.

He also said that it is not enough to fight terrorists, but it is also necessary to make it clear that supporting terrorism is unacceptable. U.S. diplomacy also needs to conduct a “friend-or-foe” test, he said, as the current administration has deviated from the course set under President Trump. As a result, agreements may have been reached that “could even strengthen countries that support terrorism.”

Gulyás asserted that Hungary is very proud of its special relations with the State of Israel, as Budapest is home to the largest Jewish community in Central Europe.

He added that some 300,000 Jews of Hungarian origin live in Israel, “for whom we are now also particularly concerned.”

Zsolt Németh, chairman of the parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, told MTI that Israel had not experienced comparable aggression since the 1973 Yom Kippur War. “Hungary stands in solidarity with Israel and recognizes its right to self-defense,” he stressed. “The Abraham Accords helped bring peace to the Middle East, they were the only way forward. We should ask ourselves whose interest it was to prevent this,” the Hungarian politician said.

Via MTI, Ungarn Heute; Featured image: MAZSIHISZ Facebook