Hungary Withdraws from the International Criminal Court as Netanyahu Arrives in Budapest

Hungary announced on Thursday that it will officially withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC). Gergely Gulyás, the minister responsible for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's office, told the Hungarian news agency MTI, "The government will begin the withdrawal process on Thursday, in accordance with constitutional and international legal frameworks."اضافة اعلان


This announcement came shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Budapest for an official visit, despite being the subject of an arrest warrant issued by the ICC for charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with Orbán on Thursday morning.

Orbán had invited Netanyahu in November 2024, when the arrest warrant was issued, and stated at the time that "the ruling would have no impact in his country."


As a member of the ICC, Hungary was theoretically obligated to arrest and extradite anyone subject to an arrest warrant from the court.

In a similar incident, Russian President Vladimir Putin, who also faces an ICC arrest warrant for war crimes in Ukraine, was not arrested when he traveled to Mongolia — a country that is a signatory of the Rome Statute — in September 2024. (Agencies)