03.04.2025 14:32
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu visited Hungary despite an international arrest warrant against him. Prior to Netanyahu's visit, the Hungarian government announced its decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC).
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has begun a four-day official visit to Hungary at the invitation of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. This is Netanyahu's first trip to Europe since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against him for alleged war crimes in Gaza.
Hungarian Prime Minister Orban stated that he would challenge the court to host Netanyahu just hours after the arrest warrant was announced in November. Orban assured reporters that the ICC's decision would have "no effect in Hungary."
HUNGARY WITHDRAWS FROM ICC
Before the official visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for whom the ICC issued an arrest warrant, the Hungarian government announced that it would withdraw from the ICC.
Gergely Gulyas, Chief Advisor to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, stated in a post on the social media platform Facebook, "Hungary is withdrawing from the International Criminal Court. The government will initiate the withdrawal process today in accordance with constitutional and international legal frameworks."
Hungarian Prime Minister Orban had invited Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to Budapest the day after the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu regarding war crimes in Gaza.
As a founding member of the ICC, which has no enforcement power and is an independent international judicial body, Hungary is theoretically obligated to arrest individuals who are subject to court orders and hand them over to The Hague. However, Orban had stated that this decision was "unacceptable."
Gulyas, Orban's chief advisor, previously stated that Hungary had ratified the Rome Statute, which is the founding document of the ICC, but noted that this agreement was "not incorporated into Hungarian law," expressing that they are not responsible for enforcing court decisions.
Viktor Orban had said in a statement following U.S. President Donald Trump's imposition of sanctions on ICC prosecutor Karim Khan in February, "It is time for Hungary to review what it is doing in an international organization under U.S. sanctions."
WHAT HAPPENED?
Last November, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and several Hamas leaders. The court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant for "committing crimes against humanity and war crimes," emphasizing that they deliberately obstructed access to vital supplies such as food, water, medicine, and fuel to punish the civilian population in Gaza with starvation.
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