Hungary's Orbán vows to disregard international arrest warrant for Netanyahu

BUDAPEST, Hungary — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Friday denounced the International Criminal Court’s issuing of an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he would defy it by inviting him to Hungary.

In comments to state radio, Orbán accused the ICC, the world’s top war crimes court based in The Hague, of “interfering in an ongoing conflict for political purposes,” saying the decision to issue the warrant for Netanyahu over his conduct of the war in Gaza undermined international law and escalated tensions.

Member countries of the ICC, such as Hungary, are required to detain suspects facing a warrant if they set foot on their soil, but the court has no way to enforce that.

The ICC issued the arrest warrant on Thursday for Netanyahu as well as for his former defense minister and Hamas’ military chief, accusing them of crimes against humanity in connection with the 13-month war in Gaza.

The warrants said there was reason to believe Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant used “starvation as a method of warfare” by restricting humanitarian aid and intentionally targeted civilians in Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza — charges Israeli officials deny.

In his comments Friday, Orbán, a close Netanyahu ally, called the arrest warrant “outrageously impudent” and “cynical.” He said he would invite Netanyahu to Hungary later Friday and vowed to disregard the warrant if the invitation is accepted.

“We will defy this decision, and it will have no consequences for him,” Orbán said. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó earlier criticized the ICC’s warrant as “absurd.”

Israel and its top ally, the United States, are not members of the court. But other Israeli allies, including some of its close European friends, are put in an awkward position by the warrants. Several, including France, welcomed the court’s decision and signaled they might arrest Netanyahu if he visited.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said President Joe Biden’s administration was “deeply concerned by the prosecutor’s rush to seek arrest warrants and the troubling process errors that led to this decision.”

Netanyahu on Friday praised Hungary for its stance on the warrant, saying in a statement: "Against the shameful weakness of those who stood by the outrageous decision against the right of the State of Israel to defend itself, Hungary — like our friends in the United States — is displaying moral clarity and standing by justice and truth.”

The action by the ICC came as the death toll from Israel’s campaign in Gaza passed 44,000, according to local health authorities, who say more than half of those killed were women and children. Their count does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.