The Fatah faction has called on the Palestinian Authority to expel the head of the Representative Office of Hungary in Ramallah, Dr. Csaba Rada, to protest a recent agreement signed between the Samaria Regional Council and the Hungarian city of Héviz, reports Jerusalem Post journalist Khaled Abu Toameh.
The twin-towns agreement, which was first signed in 2017, includes cooperation in the areas of finance, industry and tourism between the council and Héviz.
The latest agreement, signed this past week, aims to further strengthen cooperation between the two partners, and a delegation from the Hungarian city is expected to visit the Samaria region soon.
Raed al-Debai, head of the International Relations Committee of the Fatah Youth Movement, said that his group “does not consider it appropriate for the occupation’s partners to remain” in Ramallah.
He accused Hungary of violating international law and United Nations resolutions, especially Security Council Resolution 2334, which stated that “Israeli settlements” constitute “a flagrant violation under international law”.
“Whoever provides a political cover for the occupation and its crimes is not welcome on our land,” he said.
Abu Toameh also reported that the PA’s “foreign ministry” last week summoned the head of the Hungarian diplomatic mission in Ramallah to deliver an official complaint against the agreement between the Samaria Regional Council and Hévis.
Hungary, whose government has shown support for Israel, also opened a trade office in Jerusalem in 2019, which is a branch of the Hungarian embassy in Tel Aviv.
The opening stopped short of moving Hungary's Israel embassy to Jerusalem as then-US President Donald Trump did.