An EU country and founding member of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has withdrawn from the court in an unprecedented move on Thursday.
Hungary is withdrawing from the ICC, the Viktor Orban government has announced, hours after Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in the country for a state visit. Orban while standing alongside Netanyahu for a press conference called The Hague-based court a “political tool”. Hungary has refused to enforce the ICC arrest warrant against the Israeli prime minister.
“This very important court has been diminished to a political tool and Hungary wishes to play no role in it,” Orban told reporters.
The ICC had already condemned Orban’s willingness to invite the Israeli leader for a state visit, despite the arrest warrant issued by The Hague last year. It marks only Netanyahu’s second foreign trip since the warrant was issued, with the first being to Washington.
The court has charged Netanyahu with war crimes in Gaza. Israel has slammed the court’s ruling as ‘anti-Semitic’ and politically motivated, and has rejected it.
Netanyahu on Thursday praised Hungary for its “proud” support for Israel. “This is important not just for us, but for all democracies… it’s important to stand up to this corrupt organization.” The Israeli PM said he expects more countries to eventually follow Budapest’s lead.
Last November, when Budapest first unveiled the formal state invitation, Orban dismissed the ICC’s arrest warrant as “shameful” and “absurd”.
It should be noted that Hungary had also long ago declared it would never arrest Russian president Vladimir Putin should he visit the country. The conservative populist Hungarian leader had further accused The Hague of “interfering in an ongoing conflict for political purposes” – in reference to Israel’s Gaza operations.
ICC court spokesman Fadi El Abdallah in a Wednesday statement said that it is not for parties to the ICC “to unilaterally determine the soundness of the Court’s legal decisions.”
“Any dispute concerning the judicial functions of the Court shall be settled by the decision of the Court,” he said, asserting that member nations have an obligation to carry out the rulings of the court.
Orban: welcome to the safest place in Europe…
🇭🇺🇮🇱 Prime Minister @netanyahu in Budapest, the safest place in Europe. Welcome to Hungary, Prime Minister! pic.twitter.com/GI1cjGj6X1
— Orbán Viktor (@PM_ViktorOrban) April 3, 2025
Days ago Israel’s military once again ordered the evacuation of Rafah, and emerging reports say that in Gaza City food and water are becoming scarce. Netanyahu has vowed, despite an avalanche of international criticism, to pursue Hamas until the group is eradicated and can no longer attempt to assert its rule over Gaza.
Gaza health authorities say that over 1,000 Palestinians have died since the ceasefire collapsed last month. This brings the official number of deaths to over 50,000 since Oct.7, 2023. However, Israel has disputed these figures, and has claimed that tens of thousands of the casualties are actually Hamas fighters.
Loading…
