Brussels, May 19, (dpa/GNA) – The European Union failed to unanimously agree on a statement on the recent clashes between Israelis and Palestinians due to opposition from Hungary at a Tuesday videoconference.
EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said 26 of 27 member states had agreed on a joint position that condemned Palestinian militants launching rockets into Israel, but also called on Israel to respond “in a proportionate manner and respecting international humanitarian law.”
The Health Ministry in Gaza said 213 people have died since the conflict began over a week ago and more than 1,400 have been injured.
In Israel, 12 people have died and hundreds have been injured.
Borrell did not explain why Budapest had withheld support for the statement he had drafted, but said he could see little to object to in the few paragraphs under discussion.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban maintains a strictly loyal position to the Israeli government and personally to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
EU diplomats therefore speculated that Hungary did not want to support calls to Israel for an end to the violence.
Among other things, Borrell had wanted to say on behalf of all 27 states that the high number of civilians killed – including women and children – was unacceptable.
GNA