Israel’s Netanyahu to visit Hungary despite ICC arrest warrant

By Abdelraouf Arnaout and Rania Abu Shamala

JERUSALEM /ISTANBUL (AA) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to visit Hungary next month despite an arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

If confirmed, the visit will be the first by Netanyahu to a European country since the ICC officially issued arrest warrants for him and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in November for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Last month, Netanyahu visited the US despite the ICC warrant, but he did not stop in any European country during his trip.

According to Israeli Channel 12, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s chief of staff, Gergely Gulyas, said that Netanyahu will visit Hungary in the coming weeks.

He said that the Israeli premier would likely visit the country before Easter, which falls this year on April 20.

The visit comes upon an invitation from Orban, a close Netanyahu ally.

Orban was the rotating president of the European Union when the arrest warrant against Netanyahu was issued.

“There is no way to reach Hungary without passing through the airspace of other countries that are signatories to the Rome Statute, so the risk of arrest still looms over Netanyahu," the Israeli channel said.

There has been no confirmation of Netanyahu’s visit to Hungary from the Israeli authorities.

Over 48,500 people have been killed, mostly women and children, in a brutal Israeli onslaught on Gaza since October 2023. The assault was paused under a ceasefire and prisoner swap deal, which took hold in January.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.