Netanyahu defies ICC with Budapest visit (PHOTOS)

The Israeli PM has received a warm welcome by Hungarian officials despite war crimes charges by the International Criminal Court

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has embarked on a four-day official visit to Hungary in defiance of an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Hungary is a signatory of the Rome Statute – the treaty granting the ICC authority to prosecute war crimes – which obligates it to detain Netanyahu. Concurrently with the Israeli leader’s arrival, Budapest confirmed it would formally withdraw from the document, a move hinted at by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in February.

Upon arrival at the airport on Thursday morning, Defense Minister Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky welcomed Netanyahu, sharing photos of the moment on Facebook. Orban later posted a picture alongside the Israeli PM as well, declaring Budapest “the safest place in Europe.”

Netanyahu faces serious war crimes accusations from the ICC related to Israel’s military intervention in Gaza – a response to a deadly raid into Israel led by Hamas in October 2023. He and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant are suspected of employing starvation as a method of warfare, among other atrocities. Israel has condemned the arrest warrants as stemming from anti-Semitic bias by the international body.

Protesters in Poland previously called on their government to arrest Netanyahu at the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz in January. While Warsaw publicly said it would not enforce the ICC warrant, its assurances proved irrelevant as Netanyahu ultimately did not attend.

At home, the prime minister continues to fight domestic corruption allegations. An unfolding scandal dubbed ‘Qatargate’ involves claims that his close aides accepted money from Doha in exchange for advancing its interests in Israel.

As he departed for Hungary, Netanyahu dismissed the allegations as “fake” inventions of Ronen Bar, the head of the Israeli domestic security agency Shin Bet, whose dismissal over “loss of trust” last month was blocked by the nation’s High Court.