BRUSSELS (AP) — Europe turned its attention to the Palestinians on Monday as the election defeat of Israel ally Victor Orban in Hungary gives new momentum to efforts addressing Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

More than 60 nations sent representatives to Brussels for talks with Palestinian representatives on stability, security and long-term peace.

The European Union has largely been on the sidelines in the Middle East despite being the biggest provider of aid to the Palestinians and backing a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A majority of EU member countries now recognize an independent Palestinian state after many expressed outrage over Israeli actions in Gaza. The 27-nation bloc is also Israel’s top trading partner and a major buyer of Israeli weapons.

But the EU had no role in negotiating the October ceasefire in Gaza that took effect after two years of war. And European moves to condemn or sanction some Israeli actions frequently had been vetoed by Orbán.

Now Hungary's next leader, Péter Magyar, is indicating he will act differently from Orbán on Israel. And some leaders critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, like Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, are pushing for decisive action.

Challenging Europe's agreement with Israel

Magyar has said he would seek “pragmatic relations” with Israel but also rejoin the International Criminal Court, which issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu over Gaza. Orbán defied that warrant while hosting Netanyahu in 2025, then started the process of Hungary leaving the world’s only court for war crimes and genocide.

Magyar also said he might not continue Orbán’s policy of vetoing actions on Israel — a stumbling block that EU leaders critical of Israel have failed to overcome over the past three years of conflict in the Middle East.

After the Brussels meeting, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said that without Orbán's veto action could be coming soon, such as imposing sanctions on violent Israeli settlers.

“We have 27 countries and 26 countries want to put violent settlers sanctions in place,” she said. “The one who doesn’t want the sanctions on violent settlers has gotten their upper hand. Now, this country had elections, and we’ll have a new government.”

Source: WPLG