The „Israeli connection”: Why did the Orbán government want to withdraw from the ICC?
Key to understanding this story is that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an **international arrest warrant** for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on charges of war crimes.
Since Hungary was officially a member of the court, under international law the Hungarian authorities would have been obliged to arrest Netanyahu if he set foot on Hungarian soil. In response, the Orbán government – to protect one of its closest international allies and avoid a diplomatic scandal – **launched the process of Hungary’s withdrawal from the International Criminal Court**. With this move, Hungary became the only European Union member state to leave (or prepare to leave) the Hague-based body in defense of Netanyahu, allowing the Israeli prime minister to pay an official visit to Budapest without fear of arrest.
Péter Magyar and the Tisza government's turnaround: Netanyahu and international law
The new political leadership that emerged after the elections, led by Péter Magyar, immediately reversed course on this issue. They introduced a bill that **withdraws Hungary’s intention to withdraw from the ICC**, restoring the country’s full membership and commitment to international legal norms.
This step created an extremely spicy and controversial situation in the relationship between Benjamin Netanyahu and Hungarian diplomacy:
* **Invitation and threat at the same time:**
After his election, Péter Magyar spoke with Netanyahu by phone and invited him to Budapest for the state celebration marking the 70th anniversary of the 1956 revolution.
* **Possibility of arrest:**
Péter Magyar made it clear at his press conference that since Hungary remains a member of the ICC, the laws apply to everyone. He said: *„If someone is a member of the International Criminal Court and a person who is wanted enters the territory of our country, then he must be detained.”*
* **The diplomatic message:**
When journalists asked him whether he specifically told the Israeli prime minister this over the phone, Péter Magyar replied that there was no need to tell everything over the phone, he assumed that a head of state was aware of international laws.
The bill reframes Hungary’s foreign policy priorities: while the previous leadership was ready to withdraw from a global justice organization to ensure Benjamin Netanyahu’s free movement in Budapest, the Tisza government prioritizes respecting international treaties. This means that although diplomatic relations have been established and an invitation has been extended, Netanyahu’s visit to Budapest has become practically unfeasible, as Hungarian law would require him to be detained at the airport.
