Hungary invites Netanyahu and defies international arrest warrant for war crimes

BarcelonaThe far-right Hungarian government of Viktor Orbán has invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Budapest for an official visit in defiance of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The judges of this tribunal, which is responsible for trying individuals responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity, They issued an arrest warrant against Netanyahu in November. for his actions in Gaza, a decision that all member countries, including Hungary, are obliged to comply with. The Hungarian authorities have an obligation to arrest Netanyahu, if he appears on their territory, and bring him before the court, but Orbán has already said he will not comply with the order. He alleges that Hungary, a signatory to the convention associated with the Rome Statute, has not implemented it in its constitutional system.

This is not the first time Netanyahu has traveled abroad since the international arrest warrant was issued. In February, he visited the White House at the invitation of Donald Trump, who gave him the green light to break the truce in Gaza and return to indiscriminate bombing, as he did on March 18. But the United States does not recognize the ICC because it maintains immunity for its political and military leaders and troops wherever they intervene. In contrast, Hungary and all EU countries that are signatories to the Rome Statute have the obligation to arrest him and hand him over to the Court "without recourse to immunity" if he is found on their territory. France also breached its obligation when it authorized the passage of Netanyahu's plane to the United States through its airspace. Other countries such as the Czech Republic, Romania, and Argentina, also signatories to the Rome Statute, have also announced that they will not enforce the order if Netanyahu travels to their territory. ICC spokesperson Fadi El Abdallah recalled that it is not up to states "to unilaterally determine the validity of the Court's legal decisions" and that they have an obligation to implement its decisions.

Orbán opened the game with an explicit challenge: he invited Netanyahu shortly after the international arrest warrant was issued, which he described as "cynical." The decision also affects the rest of the member states of the European Union. The visit also coincides with the ground offensive on Gaza announced this morning by the Israeli Defense Minister,and has already accumulated dozens of deaths in bombings and mass evacuation orders throughout the Strip.

Consulted by ARA, Claudia Jiménez, professor of International Law at the Autonomous University, highlights that the case "is further proof of the lack of independence of the judiciary in Hungary because "it is the judge who must decide whether to apply the arrest warrant and the government cannot interfere with the power of the EU judiciary," she warns. A few years ago, Brazilian President Luis Ingacio Lula da Silva had to retract his invitation to Vladimir Putin, who also has an arrest warrant for the invasion of Ukraine - assuring him that he would not be arrested, after the judges made it clear to him that this was not their responsibility.