Hungarian government calls for ‘fair, balanced assessment’ of Israel

Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó highlighted the Hungarian government’s support for a “fair and balanced assessment of Israel”, in a video interview published by Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth on Thursday.

Hungary and Israel are in “close alliance” in international politics, and they are among countries “most attacked in international organisations and in the international media,” Szijjártó told the daily.

Bilateral ties have never been “as good and dynamic as now,” the foreign minister said. During recent talks in Israel “we confirmed that we can rely on each other,” he added.

Szijjártó pledged Hungary’s support to oppose decisions and possible sanctions against Israel in the European Union, the United Nations and in other organisations.

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In another development, Szijjártó said that Israel has not annexed the West Bank, and Hungary “will not take a position on something that has not happened”. He also rejected any possible “unnecessary and counterproductive” steps against Israel.

Concerning Hungary’s banning Israeli nationals from entering the country as part of its measures to fight the coronavirus pandemic, Szijjártó said that his government was obliged to protect the health of Hungarians and the national economy.

Answering a question about US financier George Soros, Szijjártó referred to “civil groups that are in fact political players” as “mostly financed by Soros’s network”. Soros “envisions a completely different future for Europe and wants to see a completely different Hungary than we do”, he said.

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“We have a dispute, which has nothing to do with George Soros’s religion,” Szijjártó said.

“It is anti-Semitism to say that we have a dispute with Soros because he is Jewish. We are not interested in his religion. It is the anti-Semites that are,” he insisted.

The Hungarian government “guarantees the freedom of people including their religious freedoms and will continue to protect the Jewish community and all its members”, Szijjártó said.

Source: MTI