Hungary announces ICC withdrawal as Israel's Netanyahu visits

Hungary on Thursday said it will quit the International Criminal Court, just as its Prime Minister Viktor Orban hosted Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, whom the tribunal has accused of war crimes in Gaza.

Hungary's announcement that it will start the year-long withdrawal process came as Orban welcomed Netanyahu in Budapest on the Israeli leader's first trip to Europe since 2023.

Netanyahu, who faces an ICC arrest warrant that Hungary said it would not carry out, welcomed his hosts' "bold and principled" decision to leave the tribunal, calling it a "corrupt organisation".

Set up in 2002, the ICC, based in The Hague, seeks to prosecute individuals responsible for the world's gravest crimes when countries are unwilling or unable to do so themselves.

The ICC governing body voiced regret and concern over Hungary's announcement, saying any departure harmed a "shared quest for justice."

The ICC has insisted Hungary has a "duty" to cooperate with the body.

The Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority (PA) urged Hungary to comply with the ICC warrant by "immediately handing Netanyahu over to bring him to justice".

- 'Political court' -

Orban said during a press conference with Netanyahu that the ICC was "no longer an impartial court" but a "political court" as shown "most clearly by the decisions on Israel".

Netanyahu's office said that the two leaders spoke with US President Donald Trump on Budapest's decision to quit the body.

"The discussion centred on Hungary's decision to leave the International Criminal Court and the next steps that can be taken on this issue," it said.

Orban invited Netanyahu last November, a day after the ICC issued the arrest warrant against the Israeli leader for crimes against humanity and war crimes -- allegations he fiercely rejects.

Hungary's government submitted a bill to parliament on Thursday to leave the court, with a vote expected at the end of May, after which the country will notify the UN.

Withdrawal from the ICC takes effect one year after the deposit of the withdrawal's instrument -- usually a formal letter declaring the pullout -- with the UN Secretary General's office.

Hungary signed the Rome Statute, the international treaty that created the ICC, in 1999 and ratified it two years later during Orban's first term in office.

The ICC relies on the cooperation of its 125 member states to carry out any arrest warrants.

However, Budapest has not promulgated the associated convention for constitutional reasons and therefore asserts it is not obliged to comply with decisions of the ICC.

So far only Burundi and the Philippines have withdrawn from the court.

- 'Controlling the agenda' -

Experts say Netanyahu, who is due to stay in Hungary until Sunday, is trying to diminish the impact of the court's decision.

"His ultimate goal is to regain the ability to travel wherever he wants," Moshe Klughaft, an international strategic consultant and former advisor to Netanyahu, told AFP.

Germany's chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz in February vowed to make sure Netanyahu can visit his country.

The Hungary trip "goes hand in hand with US sanctions against the ICC", Klughaft said, referring to the punitive measures Trump imposed in February over what he described as "illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel".

The ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant over allegations of crimes against humanity and war crimes -- including starvation as a method of warfare -- in Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza.

They also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas's military chief Mohammed Deif, who was killed last year.

The war was sparked by the militant Palestinian group's attack against Israel on October 7, 2023.

Netanyahu's trip comes as he faces increasing pressure over his government's attempts to replace both the domestic security chief and attorney general, while expanding the power of politicians over the appointment of judges.

"One of Netanyahu's methods is controlling the Israeli agenda," Klughaft said, adding that the Hungary visit gives him a chance to set the conversation for days.

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