Brussels – A “courageous and principled” decision: with these words, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister over whose head hangs an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC), hailed the move by his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orbán who announced that he would withdraw his country from the UN tribunal, which is considered a politicized body.
Welcomed with full honors Benjamin Netanyahu in Budapest, where he went for a four-day state visit, host Viktor Orbán announced yesterday (April 3) that he intends to take Hungary out of the International Criminal Court. As a party to the ICC, the central European country should instead arrest anyone who sets foot on its territory after having been reached by a warrant of arrest from the Hague tribunal.
“This is no longer an impartial court; a court of the rule of law, but rather a political court,” the Hungarian prime minister said, speaking alongside his Israeli host during a press conference in which neither accepted questions from reporters. “This has become clearer in light of its decisions on Israel,” he continued, arguing that Budapest “cannot and will not engage” further with the court. Netanyahu responded by thanking Hungary for being “at our side” in both the EU and the UN, adding that “it is important that all democracies stand up to this organization,” which he called “corrupt” and “rotten.”
❌ Hungary is withdrawing from the @IntlCrimCourt.
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… pic.twitter.com/gMc57m332D
– Viktor Orbán (@PM_ViktorOrban) April 3, 2025
A development that is certainly no surprise: Orbán had announced his intention to welcome Netanyahu to Budapest as early as last November, as soon as the court issued an arrest warrant against him, which the Hungarian premier defined as a “shameless” attempt by the ICC to “interfere in an ongoing conflict for political purposes.” In response to yesterday’s announcement, the institution reiterated “that Hungary has a duty to cooperate with The Hague at least until the withdrawal is formalized, a process that could take several months.
Technically, the ICC’s warrant should hold Netanyahu accountable for the devastating ongoing military campaign in the Gaza Strip (launched in the fall of 2023 and recently restarted by the Israeli premier himself after the breakdown of the fragile ceasefire agreed with Hamas in January), which, according to the judges, show a series of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Tel Aviv’s former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as three top Hamas leaders, all of whom have since been killed by the Israeli army, also received a similar restraining order. The Jewish rejected the court’s rulings, branding them as antisemitic and politically motivated, and in turn accused The Hague of losing all legitimacy.
A position also adopted by the United States, where Netanyahu went on his first trip abroad last February after the arrest warrant was issued. The Israeli premier’s office said that the latter and his Hungarian counterpart have been in talks with Donald Trump on the “next steps” regarding Hungary’s exit from the ICC.
But even in Europe, several leaders — including French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor designate Friedrich Merz, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, and Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani — publicly ruled out wanting to respect the court order in the case of a visit by the head of government of the Jewish state. A remark of brutal realism on the point came today from Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, who declared that he shared Orbán’s decision (“I don’t think we would either”) and added that he did not believe “that any European state would arrest Netanyahu if he were on its territory.” Nevertheless, the premier, who makes it “a matter of realpolitik,” deplored Hungary’s withdrawal from the court.
There is, after all, a red line linking the two strongmen in Budapest and Tel Aviv. Both are representatives of an ultranationalist right-wing and appear intent, on the one hand, on dismantling democratic structures at home – starting with the independence of the judiciary and the balance of state powers, not to mention respect for critical voices within civil society – and, on the other hand, on undermining international law, of which institutions such as the ICC represent the tangible embodiment.
In a separate case, also opened by South Africa at the ICC, the Tel Aviv government is accused of collective punishment of the Palestinian people, ethnic cleansing, and genocide, while for years now, human rights organizations – both international (e.g. Amnesty and Human Rights Watch) and local (including Israeli ones such as Yesh Din and B’Tselem) – openly speak of apartheid to refer to the system of domination set up by the Israelis in the occupied territories, especially in the West Bank.
The ICC, established in 1998 through the Statute of Rome, is the only permanent international tribunal empowered to try cases of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. It comprises 125 countries, including all 27 members of the EU. Hungary is one of the court’s founders and ratified its statute in 2001, ironically during Orbán’s first term.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
