Hungary’s new prime minister, Péter Magyar has confirmed that his country will rejoin the International Criminal Court (ICC) after his predecessor, Viktor Orbán, pulled out over the arrest warrant issued against his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu.
Magyar, who won a landslide in parliamentary elections on Sunday to end Orbán’s 16-year incumbency, announced the move in his first news conference as prime minister-elect on Monday.
While confirming that the initial withdrawal “is a process we cannot stop”, he said that Budapest would “relaunch Hungary’s accession to the International Criminal Court” under his premiership.
"I think it’s in the interest of the international community and Hungary for us to be there,” he added.
Orbán initiated the withdrawal procedure last April, making the announcement while Netanyahu was in Hungary on a state visit.
At the time, he said that the ICC’s warrants against Netanyahu and ex-Defence Minister Yoav Gallant “clearly showed” that it had become a “political court”.
The warrants in question were issued in November 2024 on allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity relating to Israel’s conduct during the war in Gaza.
Netanyahu called the warrant against him an “antisemitic step that has one goal - to deter me, to deter us from having our natural right to defend ourselves against enemies who try to destroy us”.
Magyar’s pledge to rejoin the court is potentially significant, as it would technically require his government to arrest Netanyahu should he make another state visit, though several ICC member states have already indicated they would not detain the Israeli premier.
He also suggested that Hungary may not continue to veto all EU motions against Israel, as had been the case under Orbán, saying: “We need to examine every decision, but I don’t want to run too far into the future. We will see what decisions the EU will make and to see what the truth is.”
Nonetheless, the soon-to-be leader also used his speech to emphasise his country’s “special relationship” with the Jewish state, adding: “A lot of Hungarians live in Israel, a lot of Israeli citizens come here to Hungary.
“Israel is also an important economic partner. We strive for pragmatic relations.”
And he also noted the “very strong Jewish community living in Hungary” and promised “zero tolerance in Hungary to all forms of antisemitism”.
Netanyahu, meanwhile, has congratulated Magyar on his victory and paid tribute to Orbán, whom he considered a close international ally, calling the latter “a true friend of Israel, who stood firmly by Israel’s side in the face of unjust international vilification and who supported Israel’s soldiers in our just war of self-defence against brutal terrorists”.
“I congratulate Peter Magyar on his election victory. I wish him success in leading Hungary forward, while strengthening the strong ties between our nations,” the prime minister went on.
“I look forward to continuing our cooperation for the benefit of both our peoples.”
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