BUDAPEST (Reuters) – Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday he would invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit Hungary, saying he would guarantee that the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for Netanyahu “will no longer be respected”.
The ICC issued an arrest warrant on Thursday for Netanyahu and his former security chief, as well as Hamas leader Ibrahim Al-Masri, on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Orban, whose country holds the presidency of the European Union for six months, told state media that the ICC arrest warrant was wrong and said the Israeli leader would be able to hold talks in Hungary “completely safe”.
“Today I will invite the Prime Minister of Israel, Mr. Netanyahu, to visit Hungary and in that invitation I will assure him that if he comes, the ICC judgment will no longer apply in Hungary, and we will not follow its content,” he said. Orban said.
Since Orban and his Fidesz party took power in 2010, he and Netanyahu have developed a close political relationship. Netanyahu visited Budapest in 2017.
The leaders of Israel and the White House strongly condemned the decision of the ICC, while the head of foreign affairs of the EU, Josep Borrell, said that these documents are not political and that all countries in the EU should respect and implement the court’s decision.
Within the EU, Hungary and the Czech Republic have become strong supporters of Israel, while countries such as Spain and Ireland have strengthened their support for the Palestinians.
The Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in response to the ICC’s decision, said that Prague will respect its international legal obligations.
However, Czech President Petr Fiala called the ICC’s decision “unfortunate”, saying on Thursday: “(The movement) reduces its power in some cases when it compares the elected representatives of the democratic government with the leaders of the Islamic terrorist organization.”
(Reporting by Krisztina Than and Anita KomuvesEditing by Gareth Jones)