Hungary Pulls Out of International Criminal Court as Orban Hosts Netanyahu
As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Budapest for a state visit with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Hungary withdrew from the International Criminal Court, which had issued a warrant for Netanyahu’s arrest for alleged war crimes.
It was only the second trip abroad that Netanyahu had made since the court issued the warrant in November.
“Hungary will withdraw from the International Criminal Court,” Gergely Gulyas, Orban’s chief of staff, wrote in a brief statement. “The government will initiate the withdrawal procedure on Thursday, in accordance with the constitutional and international legal framework.”
Hungary became the first country to withdraw from the court, which it joined in 2001.
Netanyahu was greeted with full military honors in Budapest’s Castle District. He stood alongside Orban as a military band played, and processions of soldiers on horseback and carrying swords and bayoneted rifles passed by. The two leaders were set to hold talks later in the day.
Netanyahu also met with Hungarian President Tamas Sulyok at the Presidential Palace, the Israeli government said.
The court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in November, charging them with war crimes and crimes against humanity for their conduct during Israel’s war in Gaza against the Hamas terrorist group.
The court alleged they used “starvation as a method of warfare” by restricting humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and intentionally targeted civilians, charges Israeli officials deny.
Israel says the court has lost legitimacy by issuing warrants against a democratically elected leader of a country exercising the right of self-defense. It says the charges are politically motivated and fueled by anti-Semitism.
The court’s member countries are required to arrest suspects facing a warrant if they set foot on their soil, but the court has no way to enforce that.
Netanyahu, who arrived in Hungary with his wife, Sara, praised Orban’s decision.
“You made a courageous decision, an important decision for the whole world, to stand up against a corrupt organization like the ICC,” Netanyahu said as he stood next to Orban.
“The new leadership have done remarkable things for Israel and the Jewish people. You supported them proudly, unstintingly,” he said.
He called Hungary’s actions “important for all democracies … as we fight this battle against barbarism.”
“You’ve taken a very bold stance against anti-Semitism,” he said. “You don’t allow it. You don’t tolerate it. You recognize that anti-Semitism today is masked by the guise of anti-Zionism.”
Israel’s battle against “the Iranian terror axis” serves to protect Europe as well as Israel, he said. “Maybe there are some in Europe who don’t understand this, but Viktor Orban understands this.”
Netanyahu and Orban have had a political alliance and friendship for more than 15 years. Both are seen as populist conservatives. Orban is known for his antagonism toward the European Union and advocacy for cracking down on civil society and human rights groups. Some see Netanyahu as taking the same stances in Israel.
Orban’s senior adviser, Zoltan Kovacs, said Hungary had already begun the withdrawal process from the court.
“The arrest warrant itself is outrageous,” Kovacs told the Jerusalem Post earlier this week. “International organizations have been hijacked by the liberal world order, and the ICC is being used as a political weapon—a witch hunt.”
The court criticized Hungary’s decision to defy its arrest warrant for Netanyahu.
Its spokesperson, Fadi El Abdallah, said it’s not for the parties to the ICC “to unilaterally determine the soundness of the Court’s legal decision.”
An Amnesty International spokeswoman denounced Hungary’s hosting of Netanyahu.
“Hungary’s invitation shows contempt for international law and confirmed that alleged war criminals wanted by the ICC are welcome on the streets of a European Union member state,” Erika Guevara-Rosas, the group’s head of global research, advocacy, and policy, said in a statement.
Hungary was the first court member nation to invite Netanyahu to visit and promise he wouldn’t be arrested.
Until now, all 27 members of the European Union have been signatories.
