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Hungary’s Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, defies an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and invites Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s Prime Minister, to Hungary.
Orbán states this to Hungary’s state radio according to Reuters.
On Thursday, the ICC issued an international arrest warrant for both Netanyahu and the former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as they are suspected of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity.
This is believed to have occurred in connection with the war in Gaza.
The EU’s foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, subsequently said that the EU member states must respect the ICC’s arrest warrant. However, even though Hungary currently holds the presidency of the EU, Orbán does not intend to act on the arrest warrant.
Orbán told Hungarian state radio that the decision to issue the arrest warrant for Netanyahu is “wrong.” He further states that Netanyahu will be able to negotiate and be safe in Hungary.
The ICC believes that Netanyahu and Gallant have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity by, among other things, preventing food and medicine from reaching civilians in Gaza.
Additionally, the court holds the two Israeli ministers responsible for at least two attacks that, in the ICC’s assessment, were directly aimed at civilians in the Palestinian area.
Beyond Netanyahu and Gallant, the ICC has issued an international arrest warrant for Mohammed Deif. He is—or has been—the leader of the militant movement Hamas’ armed wing, the al-Qassem Brigades.
Deif was reported killed in an Israeli attack in Gaza in July, but according to the ICC, it is not confirmed that he is indeed dead.
The arrest warrant for Mohammed Deif is also based on his alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, according to the ICC.
This is believed to have occurred from October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel.
Deif is according to the ICC responsible for mass killings committed against civilians and soldiers in Israel on October 7, and for abductions and subsequent sexual assaults and torture committed against hostages in Hamas’ custody.
Hungary is not the only Western country opposing the ICC’s arrest warrant, and from the American side, President Joe Biden has called the arrest warrant “outrageous.”
“The ICC’s arrest warrants for Israeli leaders are outrageous. Let me be clear: no matter what the ICC indicates, Israel and Hamas can in no way—at all—be compared,” Biden said on Thursday.
The U.S. has fundamentally rejected the arrest warrants.
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