Israeli and Hungarian media reported that Budapest will move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem next month. By doing so, it would violate the international consensus regarding the status of this disputed city. Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjartó approved the move last week, the server said. Israelite Age.

The move was said to be a “special gesture” from Hungary’s right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to his longtime international ally, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Hungarian President Katalin Nováková said on Friday that the fate of the embassy had not yet been decided, he wrote Reuters.

“I also read the news in the media,” said Nováková at a press conference during his visit to Prague. “Hungary has not yet decided to move our embassy in Israel.”

Hungarian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mate Paczolay also would not confirm the report, but said the ministry would provide up-to-date information on any changes at the embassy. “We moved the commercial part of our Israeli embassy to Jerusalem years ago,” he said.

Israel did not comment on the situation.

Hungary would thus become the first EU country to open an embassy in Jerusalem, which Israel claims as its capital. But most countries prefer Tel Aviv because Jerusalem’s status is disputed under international law until the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is resolved.

As Hungarian journalist Szabolcs Panyi points out, Hungary has yet to inform the European Commission of its intentions. This might lead to another conflict with the EU executive – the authoritarian regime in Budapest is already in trouble for repeatedly violating the rule of law.

Netanyahu, who returned to power in November, has enjoyed strong support in recent years from his ally Orbán, who has in the past been prepared to block EU statements or actions critical of Israel. Congratulating him after his election, Orbán said: “Strong leaders are needed in difficult times.”

By moving the embassy, ​​Orbán strengthened Nehanjahu’s position. It was rattled at home and abroad after he came under heavy fire over his right-wing government’s controversial plans to overhaul the judiciary. Critics called this an attack on democracy.

Israel’s parliament passed a law in 1980 declaring the “complete and united” city of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The United Nations considers East Jerusalem occupied and the status of the city in dispute until it is resolved through negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, who want East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

Most foreign embassies in Israel are based in Tel Aviv precisely because of Jerusalem’s disputed status to the east of the occupied city. This global consensus was violated by former US President Donald Trump in 2018. His decision to relocate the embassy caused outrage in the Arab world, the server wrote New Arabic.

As well as the US, Guatemala, Honduras and Kosovo have embassies in Jerusalem. The Czech Republic decided to only move its diplomatic office from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Former President Milos Zeman lobbied for a long time to move the embassy.