Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit Hungary on Tuesday, April 2, his office said on Sunday, defying an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant issued over alleged war crimes in Gaza. During his visit, Netanyahu is set to hold talks with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and other senior Hungarian officials before returning to Israel on April 6.
Orban extended an invitation to Netanyahu despite the ICC's arrest warrant issued last year. One day after the ICC decision in November, Netanyahu thanked Orban for his show of "moral clarity" in extending the invitation. Netanyahu's office at the time published what it said was a letter from Orban in which the Hungarian premier denounced the ICC decision as a "shameful" move.
The ICC issued warrants for Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant over allegations of crimes against humanity and war crimes – including starvation as a method of warfare – in Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza. The war was sparked by the militant Palestinian group's attack against Israel on October 7, 2023.
Hungary signed the Rome Statute, the international treaty that created the ICC, in 1999 and ratified it two years later during Orban's first term in office. However, Budapest has not promulgated the associated convention for reasons of constitutionality and therefore asserts it doesn't have to comply with ICC decisions.