"Here in safety"

Arrest warrant: Orbán invites Netanyahu to Hungary

One day after an international arrest warrant was issued for Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli head of government was invited to Hungary.

(Bild: APA/AP)

As reported, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The head of government - as well as former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri - is wanted for alleged war crimes. The Hungarian government criticized the "wrong" decision and invited Netanyahu to Budapest.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Hungarian radio on Friday that he would invite Netanyahu and guarantee that the arrest warrant would not be executed. The arrest warrant was "false". Netanyahu could conduct negotiations in Hungary "in reasonable safety". The ICC's decision was "cynical" and constituted "interference in an ongoing conflict for political purposes", Orbán said. In addition, the decision overrides international law and "adds fuel to the fire".

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán does not consider himself bound by the international arrest warrant against Benjamin Netanyahu.

(Bild: AFP)

EU foreign affairs representative: court decision must be respected
The USA rejected the arrest warrants in principle, and there was also criticism from Austria. The EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, called for the court decision to be respected and implemented. Hungary currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU Council. The national conservative Orbán has already been repeatedly criticized in the EU for going it alone, especially in the direction of Russia. With regard to the Gaza war, Hungary has been a strong supporter of Israel.

Netanyahu thanks Orbán for his support
Netanyahu thanked Orbán for his support. Hungary is on the side of justice, he said. According to Netanyahu's office, which called the arrest warrants "anti-Semitic", it is still unclear whether the Israeli head of government will accept the invitation. "Israel rejects the absurd and false measures of the ICC (...) with disgust," Netanyahu announced. The Court, on the other hand, considers the accusation that Netanyahu and Gallant, as superiors, are criminally responsible for deliberate attacks on the civilian population and thus responsible for war crimes in the Gaza Strip.

The investigators accuse both men of starvation, murder, persecution and other inhumane acts as a means of warfare. The accusations against Masri, a leader of the radical Islamic Palestinian organization Hamas, are similar. However, it is unclear whether he is still alive.