Prime Minister Netanyahu thanks Hungary for quitting the ICC after it issued arrest warrants over alleged war crimes in Gaza, urges other nations to do the same in defense of justice and sovereignty.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed gratitude to Hungary on Wednesday, a day after the Hungarian parliament officially voted to withdraw the country from the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“On behalf of the people of Israel, I want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Hungarian People’s Assembly for withdrawing from the corrupt International Criminal Court,” Netanyahu wrote in a post on X.
“Israel is waging a just war with just means against Hamas, a genocidal terrorist organization, that murdered 1,200 innocent people on October 7 and still holds 59 innocent people hostage.”
“The ICC’s actions against Israel and its elected leaders are a betrayal of the principles the ICC was established to defend,” Netanyahu stated.
“Countries of moral clarity should take an example from Hungary and withdraw from the ICC,” he concluded.
The ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in November 2024, citing alleged crimes against humanity committed in Gaza.
Netanyahu visited Hungary in early April. The Hungarian government announced during Netanyahu’s visit that it would withdraw from the ICC and disavow the Treaty of Rome.
Even before Netanyahu’s visit, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban denounced the ICC arrest warrant.
There have been differing interpretations among European countries that are signatory of the ICC’s founding treaty on how to handle the warrants.
France has stated that Netanyahu has immunity from ICC actions because Israel has not ratified the court’s statutes. Similarly, Italy has argued that arresting Netanyahu would not be feasible while he remains in office as Israel’s Prime Minister.
Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof recently suggested that there could be ways for Netanyahu to visit the Netherlands without being arrested, despite the ICC arrest warrant against him.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stated in January that Netanyahu would have safe passage and would not face arrest had he chosen to attend the 80th-anniversary commemoration of the liberation of Auschwitz.
Germany’s Chancellor-designate, Friedrich Merz, recently announced that he had extended an invitation to Netanyahu for a visit, adding that arrangements would be made to prevent Netanyahu from being arrested.
