At his press conference on Monday, Péter Magyar confirmed that he had indeed invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Budapest, but he also told Netanyahu that Hungary International Criminal Court (ICC) remains a member. This fact means that, as Magyar put it, „if a country is a member of the International Criminal Court and a person who is wanted by the court enters our territory, that person must be taken into custody.” And this is precisely the situation with Netanyahu.
Netanyahu’s office had previously announced that Péter Magyar had invited the Israeli prime minister to Hungary over the phone. Since the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in 2024 for war crimes and crimes against humanity, many were skeptical of the invitation and assumed that Netanyahu’s camp had simply added it to the phone conversation.
However, as Magyar revealed at his press conference on Monday, The president of Tisza did indeed invite Netanyahu – True, according to him, this isn’t unique; he invited every government official he spoke with.
„I have invited every government leader—whether prime minister or president—to the 70th anniversary of the 1956 Revolution”
– said Péter Magyar.
In response to a question from Telex, he said he had made it clear to the Israeli prime minister that Hungary had, after all, remained a member of the International Criminal Court—as Viktor Orbán had initiated withdrawal process since it hasn't been finalized yet, there's no need to back down; it will be enough for the new government to stop this withdrawal.
Péter Magyar sought to resolve the contradiction—inviting a prime minister suspected of war crimes while simultaneously threatening to arrest him if he actually came—by pointing out that Netanyahu was already aware of this.
„I didn’t sell a pig in a poke. If someone is a member of the International Criminal Court and a person who is wanted by the court enters our country, that person must be taken into custody.”
– he said at his press conference; when asked whether he had specifically told Netanyahu this as well, he replied, „I don’t need to explain everything over the phone, assuming that every head of state and government is familiar with these laws.”.
Under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Hungary was one of Israel’s closest allies, a fact evident not only in its withdrawal from the International Criminal Court and its unconditional support for Netanyahu, but also, for example, in the fact that the Hungarian government used its vetoes to systematically block the European Union’s measures against Israel. In this regard, the Commission hopes for change following the change of government, as recently Kaja Kallas, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, spoke. Péter Magyar had previously emphasized that there is a special relationship between Israel and Hungary, and that there would continue to be zero tolerance for anti-Semitism, but he promised that EU decisions would be examined on a case-by-case basis to determine „what is in our interest and what is right.”.
