(HUNGARY) -- Hungary announced it will withdraw from the International Criminal Court, the world's first and only permanent tribunal for war crimes and genocide, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Budapest for a four-day visit.
The ICC issued an arrest warrant last November for Netanyahu and former Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes in Gaza.
At the time, the ICC said there were "reasonable grounds" to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant committed war crimes in Gaza, and added that Israel's acceptance of the court's jurisdiction is not required. Israel is not a member of the ICC.
As a member of the ICC, Hungary would be obligated to arrest Netanyahu when he visited.
Netanyahu was accused of being responsible for the war crimes of starvation as a method of warfare, of intentionally directing an attack against the civilian population and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution and other inhumane acts from at least Oct. 8, 2023, until at least May 20, 2024, according to the ICC.
Netanyahu has rejected the ICC's arrest warrant and said the actions and charges are "absurd and false." Gallant also rejected the warrant and said it was an "attempt to deny the State of Israel the right to defend herself."
Hungary will initiate its withdrawal from the ICC on Thursday, Gergely Gulyás, the Hungarian prime minister's chief of staff, said in a post on Facebook.
"I am convinced that this otherwise important international judicial forum has been degraded into a political tool, with which we cannot and do not want to engage," Orbán said Thursday at a press conference after welcoming Netanyahu, according to The Associated Press.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban first extended an invitation to Netanyahu in November after the ICC issued its arrest warrant, according to The Associated Press. The divisive Orban has been the leader of Hungary since 2010, and previously served in the same role from 1998 to 2002. The conservative nationalist leader has close ties to Russia and has been celebrated by Donald Trump.
Hungary joined the ICC in November 2001 during Orban's first term as prime minister.
The 125 states that recognize the ICC -- including France, Germany and the United Kingdom -- are obliged to arrest anyone with an outstanding arrest warrant who enters their territory.
The Presidency of the of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute, which leads the ICC and is currently composed of the president, Finland's Päivi Kaukoranta, and vice presidents, Poland's Margareta Kassangana and Sierra Leon's Michael Kanu, said it "expresses concern" at Hungary's decision to remove itself from the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the ICC.
"When a State Party withdraws from the Rome Statute, it clouds our shared quest for justice and weakens our resolve to fight impunity," the presidency said in a statement. "The ICC is at the centre of the global commitment to accountability, and in order to maintain its strength, it is imperative that the international community support it without reservation. Justice requires our unity."
The White House also rejected the court's decision to issue warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant. Since taking office, Trump has issued sanctions against the ICC claiming the court has "engaged in illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel."
The ICC granted membership to the state of Palestine in 2015, giving the court territorial jurisdiction over crimes committed in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. A pretrial chamber affirmed the ratification in 2021.
The ratification laid the groundwork for the arrest warrant issued by the court against Netanyahu and Gallant in November 2024.
At the same time, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif, though the mastermind of Hamas' Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel was believed to have been killed in an Israeli airstrike several months before the warrant was issued. Hamas confirmed in January that Deif had been killed last August.
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