Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban said Friday he would invite Benjamin Netanyahu to visit his country and that he would guarantee that an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against the Israeli prime minister would “not be observed.”
Orban’s remarks stand in contrast to several European leaders who promised to respect the court’s decision.
Ireland’s prime minister Simon Harris said Friday that his country would be prepared to arrest the Israeli prime minister if he came to the country.
“We support international courts and we apply their warrants,” Harris told national broadcaster RTE when asked if Netanyahu would be arrested if he arrived in Ireland for whatever reason.
In doing so, Harris followed the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Slovenia, which all said Thursday that they would meet their commitments and obligations regarding the Rome Statute and International Law.
The ICC issued arrest warrants on Thursday for Netanyahu and his former defense chief Yoav Gallant, as well as Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza conflict.
Orban, whose country holds the European Union’s rotating six-month presidency, told state radio that the ICC’s arrest warrant was “wrong” and said the Israeli leader would be able to conduct negotiations in Hungary “in adequate safety”.
“Today I will invite Israel’s prime minister, Mr. Netanyahu, for a visit to Hungary and 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,” Orban said.
Since Orban and his nationalist Fidesz party swept to power in 2010, he and Netanyahu have forged close political relations. Netanyahu visited Budapest in 2017.
Israeli leaders and the White House have strongly condemned the ICC decision, while EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the warrants were not political and that all EU member states should respect and implement the court decision.
Within the EU, Hungary and the Czech Republic have been strong backers of Israel.
The Czech Foreign Ministry, responding to the ICC decision, said Prague would respect its international legal obligations.
However, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala called the ICC decision “unfortunate”, saying on X late on Thursday: “(The move) undermines its authority in other cases when it equates the elected representatives of a democratic state with the leaders of an Islamist terrorist organization.”
