This evening, Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to touch down in Budapest, at the invitation of Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán. The far-right leader invited his Israeli counterpart despite Netanyahu being formally accused of using starvation as a method of warfare and of committing crimes against humanity, including extermination.
This ought not to happen. As a member state of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Hungary is obliged to arrest Netanyahu upon his arrival in the country and surrender him to the court. However, Orbán and his government have made it abundantly clear that they will not comply with the ICC’s requirements. By hosting war criminal Netanyahu, the Hungarian government continues to demonstrate contempt for international law and human rights.
Orbán had already announced last November that he would invite Netanyahu, dismissing the ICC’s arrest warrants as “shameful” and “absurd.” Netanyahu’s visit — expected to last until Sunday — is his second international trip since the ICC issued arrest warrants, following the standing ovation he received in the US Congress for his crimes against humanity.
It’s not the first time. In 2023, Orbán’s chief of staff confirmed that Hungary would not arrest Russian president Vladimir Putin should he visit, despite him also being wanted by the ICC for war crimes in Ukraine. Even as Orbán positions himself as a peace advocate to garner support domestically, his government undermines the principles of justice and the rule of law by offering to welcome the world’s most notorious war criminals.
It’s not like the liberal critics of Orbán are raising a hue and cry about this, either. It seems that the principle of “never again” is routinely ignored in…
Auteur: Anita Zsurzsán
