BUDAPEST (Palestine Foundation Information Center) Hungary has announced its formal withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC) just one day before receiving Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Budapest—an act widely seen as a political maneuver to shield Netanyahu from a pending ICC arrest warrant.
The decision was made public by Gergely Gulyás, Chief of Staff to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, in a statement posted on Facebook, confirming that the Hungarian government would initiate the legal process to withdraw from the Court under international legal procedures.
The International Criminal Court responded by reminding Hungary that, despite the announcement, it remains legally obliged to cooperate with the Court regarding the arrest warrant issued for Netanyahu. ICC spokesperson Fadi El Abdallah reiterated to the press that Hungary is still bound by its obligations under international law until the withdrawal process is completed.
The announcement has drawn strong condemnation from human rights defenders and Palestinian groups. The Palestinian resistance movement, Hamas, issued a statement denouncing Hungary’s move as “a deeply immoral act that constitutes blatant collusion with a war criminal fleeing international justice.” The statement went on to describe Hungary’s action as a “flagrant violation of international law and the fundamental principles of human justice.”
Hamas added that Hungary’s decision “deals a blow to the very concept of international justice and reflects the persistent double standards employed by some Western governments, particularly Hungary and the United States. This not only undermines the credibility of the international judicial system but actively encourages impunity and threatens global peace and stability.”
The Movement called on the Hungarian government to “immediately reverse this shameful and biased decision, honor its international legal commitments, and surrender war criminal Netanyahu to the International Criminal Court to face trial for the massacres and acts of genocide committed against the Palestinian people in Gaza.”
Netanyahu arrived in Budapest on Thursday morning—his first trip to Europe since the ICC issued the arrest warrant against him in November last year, which also applies to his former army minister, Yoav Gallant.
During his visit, Netanyahu is scheduled to hold talks with Prime Minister Orbán and other senior officials, before returning to Israel on 6 April.
The development has fueled concerns among international legal experts and human rights organizations about the erosion of accountability mechanisms and the growing politicization of international justice, particularly when it involves powerful or allied states.
