Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban said the warrant issued for alleged war crimes in Gaza was “not observed.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to travel to Hungary this week, his office confirmed on Sunday.
During the five-day visit, scheduled to end on Wednesday and Sunday, Netanyahu will meet with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who invited him in November 2024, just days after the ICC issued the warrant.
Orban said at the time that “writories will not be observed” when Israeli leaders visited the Central European country.
All European Union member states, including Hungary, are one of 124 countries that are signatories of the ICC. This means that a warrant issued by the court in accordance with the Roman Act of 1998 must be enforced.
There were no immediate comments from Hungary about this week’s visit.
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But earlier this month, Orban’s Chief of Staff Gergely Gulyas spoke to a press conference. There, a urgent visit by Netanyahu was being discussed.
He argued that it “lost its meaning by conducting politics rather than legal activities,” but added that the Budapest government had no decision on the issue of the court’s continued Hungarian membership.
Other EU states also indicate that they do not comply with warrants related to Netanyahu.
Germany’s presumably Prime Minister Friedrich Merz said that after last month’s general election, Netanyahu will find “ways and means” to come to the country.
“I think it’s a completely ridiculous idea that the Israeli Prime Minister cannot visit the Federal Republic of Germany,” Mertz said in February.
Poland also said it would not arrest Netanyahu if it chose to attend the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp in January. However, in the end, Netanyahu did not travel.
Netanyahu’s visit to Hungry will mark his second trip abroad since the ICC issued a warrant to visit Washington in February to meet President Donald Trump.
On November 21, Khan announced the arrest warrant for Netanyahu and then Israeli Defense Minister Joab Gallant.
Khan said Netanyahu and Gallant committed “crimes against humanity and war crimes and war crimes” between October 8, 2023 and May 20, 2024.
Israel has condemned the warrant against Netanyahu and Gallant, describing the allegations as “false and absurd.”
In the executive order that announced sanctions against Khan, Trump said:
“This malicious act threatens to infringe on US sovereignty and undermine the important national security and foreign policy activities of the US government, including Israel, and our allies.”
The ICC has also issued warrants for the arrest of several high-ranking Hamas officials, including Yahya Singwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Hanie, for crimes against humanity, including war crimes such as taking hostages and murder. All three are dead.
The ICC has “Palestine” which is listed as a member of the court, despite the state not being recognized by many countries.
Reuters, The Associated Press and Jackson Richman contributed to the report.
