Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Friday said he would not comply with an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Orbán invited Netanyahu to visit Hungary and said Budapest would “deny the arrest warrant if he accepts the invitation.”
The comments came one day after the court in The Hague issued the warrants against Netanyahu, as well as his former defence minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif, for alleged war crimes relating to the conflict in Gaza.
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Speaking on Hungarian state radio, Orbán blasted the ICC’s decision as “cynical” and said it constituted “interference in an ongoing conflict for politic purposes.”
The Hungarian leader – seen as a close ally of Netanyahu – said the ICC’s arrest warrant was a contravention of international law and “adds fuel to the fire.”
Orbán’s defence of Netanyahu stands in contrast to the stance adopted by the European Union’s outgoing top diplomat Josep Borrell, who on Thursday said all EU countries must carry out arrest warrants issued by the ICC.
“It is not a political decision. It’s a decision of a court, of a court of justice,” Borrell said while in Amman.
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The ICC ruling said there were grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant “intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity.”
Hamas commander Deif, whom Israel says it killed in July, was also accused of responsibility for crimes against humanity and war crimes including murder, torture and rape over his alleged role in the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel.
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