BUDAPEST, Hungary — Hungary will begin the process of withdrawing from the International Criminal Court, an official said Thursday, just as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived to red carpet treatment in the country’s capital despite an arrest warrant from the world’s only permanent global tribunal for war crimes and genocide.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán gave the Israeli leader a welcome with full military honors in Budapest’s Castle District. The two close allies stood side by side as a military band played and an elaborate procession of soldiers on horseback and carrying swords and bayoneted rifles marched by.
As the ceremony unfolded, Orbán’s chief of staff, Gergely Gulyás, released a brief statement saying that “the government will initiate the withdrawal procedure” for leaving the court, which could take a year or more to complete.
Orbán later said that he believes the ICC is “a political court.”
Netanyahu’s visit to Hungary, which is scheduled to last until Sunday, was only his second foreign trip since the ICC issued the warrant against him in November.
The ICC also issued arrest warrants for three Hamas leaders who were later killed.
All countries in the 27-member European Union, including Hungary, are signatories, but the court relies on member countries to enforce its rulings. Hungary joined the court in 2001 during Orbán’s first term as prime minister.
At a news conference following their meeting, Orbán said that he believes the ICC is “no longer an impartial court, not a court of law, but a political court. And this was most clearly shown by the decisions regarding Israel.”
“I am convinced that this otherwise important international judicial forum has been degraded into a political tool, with which we cannot and do not want to engage,” Orbán said.
During the news conference, where journalists weren’t permitted to ask questions, Netanyahu praised Hungary’s decision, thanking Orbán for taking a “bold and principled decision.”
“The ICC directs its actions against us fighting a just war with just means,” Netanyahu said, calling Hungary “the first state that walks out of this corruption and this rottenness, and I think it’ll be deeply appreciated, not only in Israel but in many, many countries around the world.”
Netanyahu’s visit to Hungary was his second opportunity to travel abroad following the issuance of the warrant — the first was when he met with President Donald Trump in Washington in February.
The ICC has criticized Hungary’s decision to defy its warrant for Netanyahu, with the court’s spokesperson, Fadi El Abdallah, saying on Thursday that the court “recalls that Hungary remains under a duty to cooperate with the ICC.”
Hamas said in a statement that it considers the move by Hungary an “immoral stance that shows collusion with a war criminal who is running away from justice.” The terrorist group called on Hungary to reverse its decision and hand Netanyahu over to the ICC to stand trial.
