EU state’s leader to invite Netanyahu despite ICC warrant

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has assured his Israeli counterpart that he would not be arrested if he visits Budapest

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has invited his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu to visit Hungary despite the International Criminal Court (ICC) issuing a warrant for his arrest earlier this week.

In an interview with state radio on Friday, Orban, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, condemned the ICC’s decision to demand the arrest of the Israeli leader and stated that his country would not execute the warrant.

“Today I will invite Israel’s prime minister, Mr Netanyahu, for a visit to Hungary and in that invitation, I will guarantee him that if he comes, the ICC ruling will have no effect in Hungary, and we will not follow its contents,” Orban said.

The Hague-based court has accused Netanyahu and former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant of war crimes and crimes against humanity amid the Jewish state’s ongoing operation against Hamas in Gaza. The warrant was issued by the ICC’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, who has also pressed similar charges against Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif.

The ICC’s move has been strongly condemned by Israel and the US. 

A spokesman for the US National Security Council has claimed that the ICC “does not have jurisdiction over this matter,” and that Washington “fundamentally rejects the court’s decision.” He expressed concern at the prosecutor’s “rush to seek arrest warrants and the troubling process errors that led to this decision.”

Senior Israeli officials have accused the ICC of anti-Semitism over the arrest warrant. The country’s president Isaac Herzog has called the decision “outrageous” and claimed that it “makes a mockery of the sacrifice of all those who fight for justice – from the Allied victory over the Nazis till today.”

While Israel is not a signatory of the Rome Statute, which gives the ICC its power, the court has jurisdiction over the West Bank and Gaza, which are considered occupied Palestinian territories under international law.

Read more

The court’s jurisdiction is currently recognized by 123 countries, and Netanyahu and Gallant could face arrest if they travel to any of those nations.

The EU has said it would honor the ICC’s decision regarding the Israeli officials, with the bloc’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell describing the court’s warrants as non-political, and calling on member states to respect and implement them.

Several EU states, including the Netherlands, France, Italy, Sweden and Norway, have also made statements supporting the ICC. Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp has vowed to fully comply with the court’s decision and act on the arrest warrants. The French Foreign Ministry has also said the warrants were “in line with ICC statues” but acknowledged that arresting Netanyahu would be “legally complex.”