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Israel’s President Makes Official Visit to Hungary, Meets With Family of Hamas Hostage
Israeli President Isaac Herzog looks on during a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, not pictured, in Washington, DC, on Oct. 25, 2022. Stefani Reynolds/Pool via REUTERS
Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Tuesday received an official state welcome ceremony for his visit to Hungary, where he met his Hungarian counterpart and the family of Omri Miran, a hostage held by Hamas in Gaza since the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks across southern Israel.
“Omri is, first and foremost, a father. He has two little daughters — Roni, who is three and a half, and Alma, who is one year and eleven months old,” Miran’s wife, Lishi, told Herzog and Hungary’s President Tamás Sulyok during their meeting. “The last time he saw them, and they saw him, was on Oct. 7, when Alma was only six months old, and Roni was two years old. They themselves were also hostages. We were held hostage together as a family, Omri was taken to Gaza, and I was left with the girls.”
Lishi added, “We are now at an extremely critical moment — both for Israel and for Hamas. We need — I need, my daughters need, and all of Israel needs — the help of every world leader like you to exert pressure so that our nightmare ends. Omri, who is your citizen and my husband, is in stage two of the deal. This week or next, we hope to complete the first stage. We need you to do everything possible so that Omri is released as soon as possible. My daughters need their father.”
The first phase of the Gaza ceasefire and hostage-release deal, a 42-day truce that went into effect on Jan. 19, calls for Hamas to gradually release 33 Israeli hostages, eight of whom are believed to be dead, in exchange for about 1,900 Palestinian prisoners, many of whom have been serving lengthy sentences for terrorist activity. The second phase, negotiations for which are set to begin this week, would involve the release of the remaining living hostages and a full Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza.
Seventy captives remain in Gaza, including the bodies of 35 confirmed dead by the Israeli military.
Sulyok responded to Lishi by affirming that “we will do everything possible to ensure that an Israeli and Hungarian citizen — your husband, the father of your daughters — is released as soon as possible. We will continue to stand by your side. We share your hardship and pain because they are our hardships and pains as well.”
Herzog and Sulyok also met with Hungarian-born Holocaust survivor Aharon Shevo and his family who presented the Hungarian leader with a stamp commemorating 80 years since the Holocaust.
Following their meeting, Herzog and Sulyok both delivered statements to members of the media in attendance.
“Mr. President, in the year and a half since the horrific massacre of Oct. 7, Hungary has stood by Israel, and I deeply appreciate that. Hungary has demonstrated deep friendship and has refused to bow to the powerful wave of antisemitism, anti-Zionism, and anti-Israel sentiment sweeping the world,” Herzog said. “You have backed Israel in international forums, and, of course, supported in the struggle to bring home the Israeli hostages from Gaza. So, thank you — thank you to you, your government, and the people of Hungary for your support. This is the moment when the friendship between nations is truly tested.”
Herzog said that “the bond between the Jewish people and the Hungarian people is long-standing and historical. Hungarian Jewry is one of the most distinguished Jewish communities in the world, with deep historical roots and, of course, a magnificent community of Hungarian-origin Jews in Israel.”
On Wednesday, the Israeli president plans to visit the site where the home of Theodor Herzl, widely considered the father of modern Zionism, once stood and where “more than three decades after my father, the late Chaim Herzog, the sixth President of Israel, became the first Israeli President to visit that place,” Herzog said.
Sulyok stated that he and Herzog “see eye to eye on everything related to protecting our national borders, the independence of our nations, and issues concerning these matters. I believe that a strong Israel is essential not only for Israel’s security but also for Europe’s security and the fight against antisemitism.”
The Hungarian president added, “We categorically reject what the Hamas terror organization did to Israel on Oct. 7. We categorically reject the inhumane conditions in which the hostages are being held. Israel has the right to defend itself and to ensure the long-term security of its citizens. Preserving and expanding the peace process initiated in the Middle East is a shared interest. I told the president that Hungary maintains zero tolerance for all forms of antisemitism.”
Hungarian leadership also expressed support for Israel following the International Criminal Court’s issuing of arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
“Today I will invite Israel’s prime minister, Mr. Netanyahu, for a visit to Hungary, and in that invite, I will guarantee him that if he comes, the ICC ruling will have no effect in Hungary, and we will not follow its contents,” Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in November.
On Tuesday, Sulyok said that Israel “can count on us as steadfast supporters. We will not only continue our support but also seek further cooperation with Israel. Now and in the future, we will raise our voices against antisemitic rhetoric. It is important to us that the Jewish community feels safe here, especially given the alarming trends we have witnessed in Europe in recent years. We are committed to Holocaust remembrance — for the sake of future generations as well. The dialogue between our countries remains open, including in education, research, and various collaborations, which we continue to deepen. I hope our friendship will grow even stronger, and I am grateful for your visit.”
The post Israel’s President Makes Official Visit to Hungary, Meets With Family of Hamas Hostage first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran Says ‘Extremely Cautious’ on Success of Nuclear Talks with US
US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy-designate Steve Witkoff gives a speech at the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena on the inauguration day of Trump’s second presidential term, in Washington, DC, Jan. 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
Iran and the United States have agreed to continue nuclear talks next week, both sides said on Saturday, though Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi voiced “extreme cautious” about the success of the negotiations to resolve a decades-long standoff.
US President Donald Trump has signaled confidence in clinching a new pact with the Islamic Republic that would block Tehran’s path to a nuclear bomb.
Araqchi and Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff held a third round of the talks in Muscat through Omani mediators for around six hours, a week after a second round in Rome that both sides described as constructive.
“The negotiations are extremely serious and technical… there are still differences, both on major issues and on details,” Araqchi told Iranian state TV.
“There is seriousness and determination on both sides… However, our optimism about success of the talks remains extremely cautious.”
A senior US administration official described the talks as positive and productive, adding that both sides agreed to meet again in Europe “soon.”
“There is still much to do, but further progress was made on getting to a deal,” the official added.
Earlier Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi had said talks would continue next week, with another “high-level meeting” provisionally scheduled for May 3. Araqchi said Oman would announce the venue.
Ahead of the lead negotiators’ meeting, expert-level indirect talks took place in Muscat to design a framework for a potential nuclear deal.
“The presence of experts was beneficial … we will return to our capitals for further reviews to see how disagreements can be reduced,” Araqchi said.
An Iranian official, briefed about the talks, told Reuters earlier that the expert-level negotiations were “difficult, complicated and serious.”
The only aim of these talks, Araqchi said, was “to build confidence about the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.”
Trump, in an interview with Time magazine published on Friday, said “I think we’re going to make a deal with Iran,” but he repeated a threat of military action against Iran if diplomacy fails.
Shortly after Araqchi and Witkoff began their latest indirect talks on Saturday, Iranian state media reported a massive explosion at the country’s Shahid Rajaee port near the southern city of Bandar Abbas, killing at least four people and injuring hundreds.
MAXIMUM PRESSURE
While both Tehran and Washington have said they are set on pursuing diplomacy, they remain far apart on a dispute that has rumbled on for more than two decades.
Trump, who has restored a “maximum pressure” campaign on Tehran since February, ditched a 2015 nuclear pact between Iran and six world powers in 2018 during his first term and reimposed crippling sanctions on Iran.
Since 2019, Iran has breached the pact’s nuclear curbs including “dramatically” accelerating its enrichment of uranium to up to 60% purity, close to the roughly 90% level that is weapons grade, according to the U.N. nuclear watchdog.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this week Iran would have to entirely stop enriching uranium under a deal, and import any enriched uranium it needed to fuel its sole functioning atomic energy plant, Bushehr.
Tehran is willing to negotiate some curbs on its nuclear work in return for the lifting of sanctions, according to Iranian officials, but ending its enrichment program or surrendering its enriched uranium stockpile are among “Iran’s red lines that could not be compromised” in the talks.
Moreover, European states have suggested to US negotiators that a comprehensive deal should include limits preventing Iran from acquiring or finalizing the capacity to put a nuclear warhead on a ballistic missile, several European diplomats said.
Tehran insists its defense capabilities like its missile program are not negotiable.
An Iranian official with knowledge of the talks said on Friday that Tehran sees its missile program as a bigger obstacle in the talks.
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Palestinian Leader Abbas Names Likely Successor in Bid to Reassure World Powers
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas attends the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, April 28, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas named close confidant Hussein al-Sheikh as his deputy and likely successor on Saturday, the Palestine Liberation Organization said, a step widely seen as needed to assuage international doubts over Palestinian leadership.
Abbas, 89, has headed the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) since the death of veteran leader Yasser Arafat in 2004 but he had for years resisted internal reforms including the naming of a successor.
Sheikh, born in 1960, is a veteran of Fatah, the main PLO faction which was founded by Arafat and is now headed by Abbas. He is widely viewed as a pragmatist with very close ties to Israel.
He was named PLO vice president after the organization’s executive committee approved his nomination by Abbas, the PLO said in a statement.
Reform of the PA, which exercises limited autonomy in the West Bank, has been a priority for the United States and Gulf monarchies hoping the body can play a central role in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Pressure to reform has intensified since the start of the war in Gaza, where the PLO’s main Palestinian rival Hamas has battled Israel for more than 18 months, leaving the tiny, crowded territory in ruins.
The United States has promoted the idea of a reformed PA governing in Gaza after the war. Gulf monarchies, which are seen as the most likely source of funding for reconstruction in Gaza after the war, also want major reforms of the body.
CALL FOR HAMAS TO DISARM
Israel’s declared goal in Gaza is the destruction of Hamas but it has also ruled out giving the PA any role in government there. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he opposes the creation of a Palestinian state.
Hamas, which follows a militant Islamist ideology, has controlled Gaza since 2007 when it defeated the PA in a brief civil war after winning an election the previous year. It also has a large presence in the West Bank.
At a meeting of the PLO’s Central Council on Wednesday and Thursday that approved the position of vice president without naming an appointee, Abbas made his clearest ever call for Hamas to completely disarm and hand its weapons – and responsibility for governing in Gaza – to the PA.
Widespread corruption, lack of progress towards an independent state and increasing Israeli military incursions in the West Bank have undermined the PA’s popularity among many Palestinians.
The body has been controlled by Fatah since it was formed in the Oslo Accords with Israel in 1993 and it last held parliamentary elections in 2005.
Sheikh, who was imprisoned by Israel for his activities opposing the occupation during the period 1978-89, has worked as the PA’s main contact liaising with the Israeli government under Abbas and been his envoy on visits to world powers.
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3rd Round of Nuclear Talks Between Iran, US Concludes in Oman
Atomic symbol and USA and Iranian flags are seen in this illustration taken, September 8, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
i24 News – The third round of talks between Iran and the United States over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program has concluded on Saturday, US media reported.
The two sides are understood to have discussed the US lifting of sanctions on Iran, with focuses on technical and key topics including uranium enrichment.
On April 12, the US and Iran held indirect talks in Muscat, marking the first official negotiation between the two sides since the US unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in May 2018 during President Donald Trump’s first term.
The second round of indirect talks took place in Rome, Italy, on April 19.
All parties, including Oman, stated that the first two rounds of talks were friendly and constructive, but Iranian media pointed out that the first two rounds were mainly framework negotiations and had not yet touched upon the core issues of disagreement.
According to media reports, one of the key issues in the expert-level negotiations will be whether Washington will allow Iran to continue uranium enrichment within the framework of its nuclear program. In response, Araghchi made it clear that Iran’s right to uranium enrichment is non-negotiable.
The US, Israel and other Western actors including the United Nation’s nuclear agency reject Iranian claims that its uranium enrichment is strictly civilian in its goals.
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