Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has defied an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court by arriving in Hungary for a four-day visit.
Landing in Budapest in the early hours on Thursday, Netanyahu was welcomed on the runway by Hungary’s defense minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky.
The visit is his first to Europe since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants in November 2024 against Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, accusing the pair of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
However, hours after the ICC issued the ruling, Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, publicly backed Netanyahu and promised that the warrants would “have no effect in Hungary.”
Orbán later condemned the warrants, calling them “brazen, cynical and completely unacceptable.”
The Times of Israel newspaper said it had learned that Hungary is expected to announce its withdrawal from the ICC during the Israeli prime minister’s visit.
Netanyahu is due to meet Viktor Orbán on Thursday morning ahead of a press conference slated to be held shortly after noon (CET). The Israeli prime minister is also expected to visit Budapest’s Holocaust Memorial Center over the course of his visit.
Although further details of his schedule remain unknown, he is expected to lobby for support backing Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza. Speaking to The Times of Israel, one political insider said: “Netanyahu is trying to build a coalition of as many countries as possible backing Trump’s plan for Gaza.”
Trump has previously advocated the removal of Palestinians from Gaza while proposing the U.S. “takes over” and “owns” the Gaza Strip. The plan has been widely slammed by human rights groups, with some likening it to “ethnic cleansing.”
Netanyahu’s visit to Hungary is only the second foreign trip that he has undertaken since the ICC made him subject to a warrant.
In February, the Israeli prime minister traveled to Washington, where he met U.S. President Donald Trump—unlike Hungary, however, the U.S. is not a signed-up member state of the ICC.
News of Netanyahu’s trip has outraged human rights groups, with Amnesty International slamming Hungary for undermining the work of the ICC and branding the visit “an insult to the victims of these crimes.”
“Hungary’s invitation [to Netanyhau] shows contempt for international law and confirms that alleged war criminals wanted by the ICC are welcome on the streets of a European Union member state,” said Amnesty International’s Erika Guevara Rosas.
Yet while Hungary has been the first ICC member state to receive Netanyahu since the issuance of the warrant, others such as France, Germany, Italy and Poland have either stated or implied that they would not arrest him if he visited.
Netanyahu has strongly denied the ICC’s charges, calling them “false and absurd.” His visit comes two weeks after a ceasefire with Palestine collapsed following renewed Israeli air strikes and ground operations.
The visit is his first to Europe since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants in November 2024 against Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, accusing the pair of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
However, hours after the ICC issued the ruling, Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, publicly backed Netanyahu and promised that the warrants would “have no effect in Hungary.”
Orbán later condemned the warrants, calling them “brazen, cynical and completely unacceptable.”
The Times of Israel newspaper said it had learned that Hungary is expected to announce its withdrawal from the ICC during the Israeli prime minister’s visit.
Netanyahu is due to meet Viktor Orbán on Thursday morning ahead of a press conference slated to be held shortly after noon (CET). The Israeli prime minister is also expected to visit Budapest’s Holocaust Memorial Center over the course of his visit.
Although further details of his schedule remain unknown, he is expected to lobby for support backing Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza. Speaking to The Times of Israel, one political insider said: “Netanyahu is trying to build a coalition of as many countries as possible backing Trump’s plan for Gaza.”
Trump has previously advocated the removal of Palestinians from Gaza while proposing the U.S. “takes over” and “owns” the Gaza Strip. The plan has been widely slammed by human rights groups, with some likening it to “ethnic cleansing.”
Netanyahu’s visit to Hungary is only the second foreign trip that he has undertaken since the ICC made him subject to a warrant.
In February, the Israeli prime minister traveled to Washington, where he met U.S. President Donald Trump—unlike Hungary, however, the U.S. is not a signed-up member state of the ICC.
News of Netanyahu’s trip has outraged human rights groups, with Amnesty International slamming Hungary for undermining the work of the ICC and branding the visit “an insult to the victims of these crimes.”
“Hungary’s invitation [to Netanyhau] shows contempt for international law and confirms that alleged war criminals wanted by the ICC are welcome on the streets of a European Union member state,” said Amnesty International’s Erika Guevara Rosas.
Yet while Hungary has been the first ICC member state to receive Netanyahu since the issuance of the warrant, others such as France, Germany, Italy and Poland have either stated or implied that they would not arrest him if he visited.
Netanyahu has strongly denied the ICC’s charges, calling them “false and absurd.” His visit comes two weeks after a ceasefire with Palestine collapsed following renewed Israeli air strikes and ground operations.
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