Alexandra Sharp
Foreign Policy / November 22, 2024
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban vowed on Friday to defy the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) recent decision to issue an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Orban accused the ICC of “interfering in an ongoing conflict for political purposes” and escalating regional tensions.
The ICC arrest warrants—issued on Thursday for Netanyahu, former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif—cite alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza.
For the two Israeli officials, the court specifically pointed to actions that were allegedly part of a “widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Gaza,” including “starvation as a method of warfare.” For Deif, the court cited actions including murder, hostage-taking, and sexual violence. Israeli forces said Deif was killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza in July, but the court was unable to confirm his death.
Under the Rome Statute, all 124 ICC member countries are required to detain any suspects facing a warrant if they set foot on their soil. However, the court has very little recourse to address noncompliance. In defiance of the order, Orban added on Friday that he will invite Netanyahu to visit Budapest, making Hungary the first European Union country to openly ignore the ruling. Hungary is a member of the ICC; Israel and its top ally, the United States, are not.
“Hungary—like our friends in the United States—is displaying moral clarity and standing by justice and truth,” Netanyahu said in response to Orban’s statement. Netanyahu’s administration has repeatedly denounced the ICC and its chief prosecutor, with several top Israeli ministers describing the court’s decision to issue the warrants as antisemitic.
Hungary is not alone in rejecting the ICC decision. U.S. President Joe Biden called it “outrageous” and said the ICC should not equate Israel with Hamas. Argentine President Javier Milei also expressed his country’s “profound disagreement” with the decision and said Israel has the right to defend itself against the militant group. Unlike the United States, Argentina is a member of the ICC and would be in violation of the Rome Statute if it refuses to arrest Netanyahu.
Still, some ICC members have promised to back the court’s ruling. “Those responsible for crimes committed in Israel and Gaza must be prosecuted at the highest level, regardless of who committed them,” Belgium’s Foreign Ministry said. Brussels joined Canada, Ireland, Jordan, the Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, and Switzerland to signal that it would detain Netanyahu were he to travel to their countries. The Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank, expressed confidence in international law, and Austria—despite calling the warrant ludicrous—vowed to uphold the decision.
Other ICC members remain on the fence for how to proceed. France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom have not explicitly said whether they would detain Netanyahu if he were to visit their countries. Berlin, specifically, said it must take a closer look at the text, noting that Germany’s history with the Holocaust has given the country “a unique relationship and a great responsibility to Israel.”
Legal experts anticipate that the warrants could lead some governments to scale down their contact with Netanyahu and other Israeli diplomats. This could come in the form of cutting ties with Israeli institutions and defense companies or spurring efforts to bring new war crimes cases against lower-ranking officials. Already, the decision has caused a planned trip to Israel by Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp for next Monday to be postponed, after he said that his country would comply with the ICC ruling.
Alexandra Sharp is the World Brief writer at Foreign Policy
