The International Criminal Court (ICC) has denounced Hungary’s decision to defy its arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu after The Hague charged him with war crimes last year related to the Gaza war.
Netanyahu is set to begin a four-day visit to Hungary on Wednesday. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban made it clear he will not enforce the arrest warrant upon issuing the invitation. This despite Hungary being a founding member of the ICC.
This marks only Netanyahu’s second international trip since the warrant was issued, and he’s had to avoid Europe altogether until now. The only other trip was to the United States, where he had received a standing ovation in Congress.
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 fresh 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.
The Associated Press has observed that “Members of Orbán’s government have suggested that Hungary, which became a signatory to the court in 2001, could withdraw.”
Amnesty International was also among the human rights groups blasting Hungary’s provocative invitation, with a spokesperson saying, “Hungary’s invitation shows contempt for international law and confirms that alleged war criminals wanted by the ICC are welcome on the streets of a European Union member state.”
More anger directed at Orban as he’s already unpopular among Western European leaders, and a longtime thorn in the side of EU counterparts…
It is outrageous that any European Union state would allow Netanyahu to visit without arresting him on his outstanding International Criminal Court warrant. Hungary is no exception even though Viktor Orban routinely flouts the rule of law. https://t.co/xLoxM5YeQM
— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) April 2, 2025
Israel’s Gaza operations started again last month, and Gaza health authorities say that over 1,000 Palestinians have died since then. This brings the official number of deaths to over 50,000. However, Israel has disputed these figures, and has claimed that tens of thousands of the casualties are actually Hamas fighters.
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.
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