International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands
By Gary Raynaldo – DIPLOMATIC TIMES
Hungary announced on Thursday that it would be withdrawing from the International Criminal Court as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Budapest. Netanyahu, who is accused of war crimes, is the subject of an ICC arrest warrant. Gergely Gulyás, Head of the Prime Minister’s Office, confirmed on social media that the Hungarian government has decided to quit its ICC membership. Gulyás said Hungary would initiate the termination procedure “within the constitutional and international legal framework.”
Last November, ICC judges said there were reasonable grounds that Netanyahu bore criminal responsibility for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity stemming from Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza. Netanyahu denounced the arrest warrant as “antisemitic and absurd.”
Prime Minister Orban, in a social media post, accused the ICC of being a political court unfairly targeting Netanyahu:
“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 stands with Israel.”
Orban is a right-wing nationalist and staunch supporter of the Netanyahu government. He is also a longtime ally and supporter of US President Donald Trump. The Hague-based war tribunal expressed concern and regret over Hungary’s announcement to withdraw from the tribunal, saying “it clouds our shared quest for justice and weakens our resolve to fight impunity.” Human Rights group Amnesty International slammed Hungary for seeking to withdraw from the ICC and not arresting Netanyahu. Agnès Callamard the Secretary General of Amnesty International said:
“Prime Minister Orbán is harbouring a wanted ICC fugitive. Benjamin Netanyahu is accused by the ICC of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity against Palestinians. By welcoming Netanyahu, Hungary is effectively giving a seal of approval to Israel’s genocide, namely the physical destruction of the Palestinian people in whole or in part in Gaza. Hungary’s purported withdrawal from the ICC is a brazen and futile attempt to evade international justice and to stymy the ICC’s work. This cynical announcement does not change the fact that Hungary still has a fundamental obligation to arrest and surrender Benjamin Netanyahu to the ICC. Any withdrawal would take effect in one year and must not distract from Hungary’s international legal obligations.”
