On Thursday, Hungary hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and announced it would be quitting the International Criminal Court, which has issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
“The Hungarian government has decided to withdraw from [the ICC],” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in Budapest alongside Netanyahu, who was clapping during the announcement.
In a post on X, Orban said the ICC has “become a political tribunal, evident in its witch-hunt against Prime Minister [Netanyahu]. We will not support a court that targets democracies like Israel for political gain. Hungary defends the rule of law. Hungary stands with Israel.”
The ICC issued its warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant back in November 2024. The court also sought warrants for three Hamas leaders, but they have all been killed by Israel.
Orban has been one of the few European leaders consistently calling for peace in Ukraine, but he has expressed strong support for Israel amid its genocidal war on Gaza. “Hungary stood by Israel in Hamas’ murderous attack — and today, Hungary stands by Israel in the attack on the hypocrisy of the International Criminal Court in The Hague,” Netanyahu said in a post on X.
Both the Biden administration and the Trump administration have strongly opposed the ICC’s efforts against Netanyahu since the US is implicated in Israeli war crimes due to US military aid to Israel and other kinds of support. In February, the Trump administration sanctioned Karim Kham, a British lawyer who serves as the chief ICC prosecutor.
