Hungary has again invited Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit Budapest despite an International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued against the leader for alleged war crimes in Gaza.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar met his Hungarian counterpart Péter Szijjártó in Budapest on Thursday, where the two discussed ICC arrest warrants against Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as the fate of a Hungarian national being held in Gaza by Hamas.
During the talks, Szijjártó reiterated Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s offer to Netanyahu, criticising the ICC’s investigation into war crimes in Gaza, where at least 47,283 people have been killed and the enclave almost completely obliterated following 15 months of heavy Israeli bombing.
“This ruling discredits the ICC and raises questions about its future cooperation with Hungary,” he said.
Sa’ar, a right-wing opponent of Netanyahu who recently joined his Israeli government, slammed the ICC arrest warrant issued against the prime minister in November, part of international legal pressure on Israel over its brutal assault on Gaza.
“[The ICC] is political and corrupt…it is unprecedented for the ICC to turn against a democratic country that is fighting terrorism, that is acting in accordance with international law and the rule of law,” he said.
Orban criticised the arrest warrant against Netanyahu at the time and said it would not respect it. The right-wing populist is one of Netanyahu’s supporters in Europe, with the premier describing his Hungarian counterpart as a “true friend of Israel”.
Orban himself has been accused of anti-semitism after praising Miklos Horthy, Hungary’s leader during the Second World who was a strong ally of Nazi Germany, and attacking on Jewish billionaire philanthropist George Soros.
Sa’ar and Szijjártó also discussed the situation of Hungarian-Israeli citizen Omri Miran, who is being held in Gaza and not among the names of 33 captives due to be released by Hamas in the first phase of a ceasefire.
Two years ago, Hungary and Israel pledged military cooperation on drone production, and already have strong economic and political ties.
