Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has arrived in Hungary despite an international arrest warrant. “Welcome to Hungary, Benjamin Netanyahu”, wrote Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky on the online network Facebook. Netanyahu was received by his counterpart, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, after being invited by Orbán.
Netanyahu was summoned by Orbán despite the International Criminal Court (ICC) issuing an arrest warrant for the Israeli Prime Minister in connection with the war in the Gaza Strip in November. Over 120 ICC member states, including Germany, but not Israel and the US, are obligated to arrest Netanyahu as soon as he enters their territory.
However, the likely future German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) had already announced a meeting with the Israeli Prime Minister in Germany in the near future. During a phone call, Merz reportedly assured Netanyahu that he would not be arrested in Germany.
Orbán had publicly extended an invitation to Netanyahu after the ICC’s warrant was issued, calling the court’s decision “null and void” and stating that it would “pour oil on the fire”. He assured Netanyahu that he would not face any consequences if he accepted the invitation and the warrant would be ignored.
Hungary has also announced that it will initiate the withdrawal procedure from the International Criminal Court, the only permanent international tribunal for war crimes and genocide. “Hungary will withdraw from the International Criminal Court”, wrote Gergely Gulyás, the chief of staff of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, in a brief statement. “The government will initiate the withdrawal procedure on Thursday, in accordance with the constitutional and international legal framework.