Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced today (Friday) that he will invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit Hungary, stressing that the arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC) will not be enforced. Orbán noted that he promised that the order would not be carried out in Hungary.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Thursday issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Defense Minister Galant, and Hamas terrorist leader Mohammed Deif for "war crimes and crimes against humanity."
Orbán, who is also president of the European Union for a six-month term, expressed his opposition to the ICC's arrest warrant, which he called "wrong." In a conversation with state radio, he said that Netanyahu would be able to fly to Hungary "with adequate safety," adding, "Today I will invite the Prime Minister of Israel, Mr. Netanyahu, to visit Hungary and with this invitation I will assure him that if he comes, the ruling of the regional court will have no effect in Hungary, and we will not follow its instructions."
The ties between Orbán and Netanyahu have been close since 2010, when Orbán's Fidesz party came to power. Netanyahu visited Budapest in 2017. Orban is also considered very close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
* Kikar Hashabbat contributed to this article.
