As reported by Channel 13, Israeli diplomatic sources, and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s chief of staff, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will pay an official visit to Hungary in the next few weeks. This visit was set in defiance of an international arrest warrant for the Israeli leader.
As the Hungarian Conservative reported, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants in November 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Ibrahim Al-Masri on charges of alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the Gaza conflict. This decision followed months of deliberations by the ICC judges.
In their decision, the ICC judges stated that there were reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Gallant were criminally responsible for acts such as murder, persecution, and the use of starvation as a weapon of war. These acts were described as part of a ‘widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Gaza,’ according to Reuters. The judges further asserted that the blockade on Gaza and the resulting lack of essential resources—including food, water, electricity, fuel, and medical supplies—had ‘created conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of part of the civilian population in Gaza.’ These conditions, they said, led to the deaths of civilians, including children, from malnutrition and dehydration.
The ICC’s decision elicited mixed reactions from world leaders. The Dutch government, host to the ICC in The Hague, announced that Netanyahu would be arrested under the Rome Statute if he were to set foot on Dutch soil. In contrast, Hungarian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó strongly criticized the ICC’s decision. ‘This decision has brought shame on the international court system by placing an equal sign between the prime minister of a country attacked by a vicious terrorist attack and the leaders of the terrorist organization that carried out the attack. The decision is unacceptable,’ Szijjártó stated in a Facebook post then.
‘This decision has brought shame on the international court system by placing an equal sign between the prime minister of a country...and the leaders of the terrorist organization’
Although member countries of the ICC, such as Hungary, are required to detain suspects facing a warrant if they set foot on their soil, the court has no way to enforce this process. Therefore, unlike several other European nations claiming that Netanyahu would be detained, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán took a sharp jab at the ICC in his characteristically shrewd manner and announced following the warrant that he would invite Netanyahu to visit Hungary, assuring that the ICC’s arrest warrant against him would ‘not be observed’. Orbán called the ICC's decision unjustified and stated that the Israeli leader would be able to conduct negotiations in Hungary under proper and secure conditions.
At a news conference, Head of the Prime Minister’s Office Gergely Gulyás stated: ‘According to current plans, he will arrive before Easter. Once the date of the visit is confirmed, we will, of course, announce it, taking into account the extremely important security considerations in this case.’ Easter Sunday falls on 20 April this year.
This will be Benjamin Netanyahu's second trip abroad since the international arrest warrant was issued for him. His first trip was early last month when he flew to Washington to meet with President Donald Trump.
Even though Germany is one of the biggest supporters of the ICC, after a successful election campaign, conservative Christian Democrat (CDU) leader Friedrich Merz promised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he ‘will find ways and means for him to visit Germany and also to be able to leave again without being arrested in Germany.’ The political leader added that he thinks ‘it is a completely absurd idea that an Israeli prime minister cannot visit the Federal Republic of Germany.’
Trump’s Sanction on ICC — Hungary Might Leave the Organization
US President Donald Trump announced sanctions imposed on the ICC after meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was the first foreign leader to visit him since his inauguration on 4 February 2025. The signed executive order accuses the ICC of engaging in ‘illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel,’ and of abusing its power by issuing ‘baseless arrest warrants’ against Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister. The US president’s sanctions include freezing the assets of ICC officials and employees and banning them from travelling to the United States.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán commented on Donald Trump’s decision on X:
‘It’s time for Hungary to review what we’re doing in an international organization that is under US sanctions! New winds are blowing in international politics. We call it the Trump-tornado.’
Recently, Gergely Gulyás said he would ‘very much support’ Hungary withdrawing from the ICC, as it had ‘lost its meaning by conducting political instead of legal activities.’ However, Hungary’s government has not made any decision on the matter, he added.
Since the United States and Israel do not recognize the authority of the ICC, a majority of member states have expressed support for the Court, with only Australia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Italy abstaining.
Netanyahu’s First Visit After Regime Change
Netanyahu last visited Hungary in July 2017. This was the first time since the change of regime that an Israeli Prime Minister had paid an official visit to Budapest. During the visit, Netanyahu met with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and President János Áder, participated in a Visegrad Group meeting, and visited the Dohány Street synagogue. He called Viktor Orbán a ‘true friend of Israel’.
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