Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban stated that he would invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit Hungary and guaranteed that Hungary would not observe the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant against Netanyahu. This is in contrast to several European leaders, including Ireland’s Prime Minister Simon Harris, who promised to respect the court’s decision and would be prepared to arrest Netanyahu if he visited their country. The ICC had issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza conflict.
Orban, who has a close political relationship with Netanyahu, criticized the ICC’s decision, calling it “wrong” and assuring that Netanyahu would be safe in Hungary. This statement came after several European countries promised to meet their obligations under the Rome Statute and International Law, by honoring the arrest warrants.
While EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell stated that the warrants were not political and that all EU member states should respect them, Hungary and the Czech Republic, both strong backers of Israel within the EU, have expressed their support for Israel. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala called the ICC’s decision “unfortunate”, arguing that it undermines the court’s authority. Netanyahu and the White House strongly condemned the ICC decision, while Orban’s invitation to Netanyahu highlights the divide within the EU regarding the enforcement of the arrest warrants.
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