Hungary announced on Thursday that it intends to exit the International Criminal Court, timing the declaration just hours after Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu landed in Budapest, despite being subject to an ICC arrest warrant.
Rather than complying with the court’s mandate, the administration of Prime Minister Viktor Orban chose to disregard the warrant. Netanyahu received a ceremonial welcome at Buda Castle, complete with a military band, instead of facing detention upon arrival.
With this decision, Hungary becomes the only European Union nation seeking to leave the ICC. The move reinforces Orban’s role as a contrarian within Europe—an image he cultivates to appeal to his base at home—and highlights his continued affinity with the Trump-era stance toward global institutions.
Gergely Gulyas, Orban’s chief of staff, stated via Facebook that Hungary would launch the withdrawal proceedings “in accordance with constitutional and international law frameworks.”
Still, under the Rome Statute, the treaty that created the ICC in 1998, Hungary remains bound by its legal obligations for at least one more year, meaning that its failure to detain Netanyahu on Thursday represented a violation of the agreement.
“Hungary remains under a duty to cooperate with the I.C.C.,” said court spokesman Fadi El Abdallah in a statement responding to the Hungarian announcement.
The ICC had issued arrest warrants last November targeting both Netanyahu and his former defense chief Yoav Gallant, citing alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during military actions in Gaza.
This visit to Hungary marked Netanyahu’s first trip to a nation under ICC jurisdiction since the warrants were announced, raising questions about whether he might be apprehended. His earlier visit to Washington in February posed no such risk, as the U.S. is not a party to the ICC.
A number of European nations, France among them, have hesitated to say whether they would carry out the ICC order if Netanyahu were to visit. But Orban went far beyond ambiguity. In November, he condemned the court’s move outright, welcomed Netanyahu’s visit, and declared unambiguously that Hungary would not detain him.
Though Gulyas first introduced the idea of leaving the ICC back in February, he noted then that a final determination had not yet been made.
Of the ICC’s 125 member states, only two—Burundi and the Philippines—have officially withdrawn, both doing so after the court began probing their heads of state. Venezuela has hinted at following suit but has yet to act.
Orban has built his political identity around defying the European consensus. As a NATO and EU member, he has repeatedly clashed with Western allies, lambasting leaders who support Ukraine as “warmongers,” nurturing ties with Russian President Vladimir V. Putin, and accusing Brussels of trying to infringe on Hungarian sovereignty. He also delayed Sweden’s NATO membership for over a year.
Hosting Netanyahu in Budapest despite the ICC warrant gave Orban another chance to challenge Western norms and potentially curry favor with Washington.
Netanyahu’s trip marked his first journey to a nation that officially recognizes the ICC’s authority since the court called for his arrest.
{Matzav.com}