Viktor Orban has vowed to defy the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrant against Benjamin Netanyahu – saying that the Israeli leader is invited to Hungary.
On Thursday, the court accused Mr Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant of crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza. A warrant was also issued for Hamas commander Mohammed Deif, who Israel says was killed in an airstrike this summer.
The Hungarian prime minister branded the ICC’s decision as “brazen, cynical and completely unacceptable” and assured Mr Netanyahu he would face no risks if he visited Hungary.
The ICC said there were “reasonable grounds” to believe that Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant “bear criminal responsibility for the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare” and that they had “intentionally and knowingly deprived” Gaza’s civilians of food, water, medicine, medical supplies and fuel and electricity.
The conflict in Gaza was triggered by an attack inside Israel by Hamas on 7 October last year, during which around 1,200 Israelis were killed, and another 251 people were taken hostage. The ICC said it had found reasonable grounds to believe that Hamas’ Deif was “responsible for the crimes against humanity of murder; extermination; torture; and rape and other form of sexual violence; as well as the war crimes of murder, cruel treatment, torture; taking hostages; outrages upon personal dignity; and rape and other form of sexual violence”.
Israel’s retaliatory war from land and air, alongside a blockade, has killed 44,000 Palestinians, the majority women and children, according to health authorities inside the besieged territory. Around 90 per cent of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been forced from their homes.
Israel has vehemently denied the allegations against Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant, with the prime minister’s office calling the ruling antisemitic.
The warrants mean that the ICC’s 124 member states – including Hungary – would be obliged to arrest Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant if they were to enter their territory.
But Mr Orban, who is often at odds with his EU peers, said on Friday: “Today I will invite Israel’s prime minister Mr Netanyahu, for a visit to Hungary.
“In that invite I will guarantee him that if he comes, the ICC ruling will have no effect in Hungary, and we will not follow its contents.”
Mr Orban is a close ally of Mr Netanyahu, and also has warm ties with Vladimir Putin in Russia.
US President Joe Biden has called an International Criminal Court war crimes arrest warrant for the Israeli prime minister “outrageous”. The US is Israel’s closest ally.
Mr Biden said in a statement that “whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.”
EU heavyweights Germany and France declined to say what they would do if the Israeli leader entered their territory, while Britain – also an ICC member – suggested it would uphold international law but would not be drawn into hypotheticals.
The Netherlands, Finland, Ireland, Italy and Spain are among EU states that have also said they would meet their ICC commitments.
Mr Orban, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, has previously said he would not arrest Putin, who is also wanted by the court.
Mr Netanyahu thanked Mr Orban for his “moral clarity”, adding: “Faced with the shameful weakness of those who stood by the outrageous decision against the right of the state of Israel to defend itself, Hungary is standing by the side of justice and truth.”
The outgoing EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said the court’s decisions must be binding. “It is not a political decision,” he said on Thursday.
“It is a decision of a court, of a court of justice, of an international court of justice. And the decision of the court has to be respected and implemented.”
