BUDAPEST (Reuters) – Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Friday (22) he would invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit Hungary, saying he would ensure that an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court against Netanyahu “will not be observed”.
The ICC issued arrest warrants on Thursday for Netanyahu and his former defense chief, as well as a Hamas leader, Ibrahim Al-Masri, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza conflict.
Orbán, whose country holds the six-month rotating presidency of the European Union, told state radio that the ICC’s arrest warrant was “wrong” and said the Israeli leader could conduct negotiations in Hungary “with due security.”
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“Today I will invite the Prime Minister of Israel, Mr. Netanyahu, for a visit to Hungary and, in this invitation, I will guarantee that, if he comes, the ICC decision will have no effect in Hungary and we will not follow its content”, declared Orbán.
Since Orbán and his nationalist Fidesz party came to power in 2010, he and Netanyahu have established close political relations. Netanyahu visited Budapest in 2017.
Israeli leaders and the White House strongly condemned the ICC decision, while EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the warrants were not political and that all EU member states should respect and implement the court’s ruling. .
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Within the EU, Hungary and the Czech Republic have strongly supported Israel, while countries such as Spain and Ireland have emphasized their support for the Palestinians.
The Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in response to the ICC decision, said that Prague will respect its international legal obligations.
However, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala called the ICC decision “unfortunate,” saying on X on Thursday night: “(The measure) weakens its authority in other cases by equating the elected representatives of a democratic state to the leaders of an Islamic terrorist organization.”
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(Reporting by Krisztina Than and Anita Komuves)
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