Prime Minister Viktor Orban has invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit Hungary, saying he would guarantee that an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant would “not be observed”.
The ICC issued arrest warrants on Thursday, local time, for Mr Netanyahu and his former defence chief, Yoav Gallant, as well as a Hamas leader, Mohammed Deif, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza conflict.
Mr Orban told state radio that the ICC’s arrest warrant was “wrong” and said the Israeli leader would be able to conduct negotiations in Hungary “in adequate safety”.
“Today I will invite Israel’s prime minister, Mr Netanyahu, for a visit to Hungary and in that invite I will guarantee him that if he comes, the ICC ruling will have no effect in Hungary, and we will not follow its contents,” Mr Orban said.
Hungary currently holds the European Union’s (EU) rotating six-month presidency.
All 27 member states of the EU, including Hungary, are a part of the ICC and whilst the court says its members are required to detain suspects if they step foot on their soil, the court has no way of enforcing this.
Since Mr Orban and his nationalist Fidesz party swept to power in 2010, he and Mr Netanyahu have forged close political relations. Mr Netanyahu visited Budapest in 2017.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for both Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and Yoav Gallant. (Reuters: Abir Sultan)
US ‘rejects’ the warrants
Israeli leaders and the White House have also strongly condemned the ICC decision.
US President Joe Biden issued a statement following the news saying the warrants for the Israeli leaders were “outrageous” and that “whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas”.
“We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security,” Mr Biden said.
A White House Security Council spokesman said the US “fundamentally rejects” the court’s decision to issue warrants against the Israeli officials.
Others vow to uphold arrest warrants
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said “Australia respects the independence of the ICC and its important role in upholding international law”.
China urged the ICC to remain objective and fair in regards to the arrest warrants.
“China hopes the ICC will uphold an objective and just position (and) exercise its powers in accordance with the law,” foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the warrants were not political and that all EU member states should respect and implement the court decision.
Within the EU, Czechia has been a strong backer of Israel, but its foreign ministry responding to the ICC decision, said Prague would respect its international legal obligations.
Countries such as Spain and Ireland stress their support for the Palestinians, and Germany, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Canada, Slovenia and Jordan indicated they respected and could implement the ICC warrants.
Reuters