Link to article: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3/30/israels-pm-netanyahu-to-visit-hungary-despite-icc-arrest-warrant
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced on Sunday that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban had extended an invitation to visit Hungary, and that Netanyahu would be making the trip this coming week. Orban has made it clear that Hungary will not impose the ICC arrest warrant on Netanyahu for war crimes in Gaza, which was announced in November. According to an Israeli newspaper, The Times of Israel, the visit to Hungary this week will serve as Netanyahu’s chance to push for Hungarian support for Trump’s plan to ethnically cleanse Gaza, as he’s (Netanyahu) attempting to “build a coalition of as many countries as possible backing Trump’s plan”. While Hungary is obligated to comply with the ICC rulings because it is an EU member, there has been no official response from Budapest on the upcoming visit.
This article is necessary in order to understand the alliances the Israeli government has formed with other countries, especially countries beyond the middle east region. It has already been made evident that the US government has chosen to support Israel, but it is important to understand what other countries are also in support of. Additionally, this article demonstrates how strongly Hungary values its ties with Israel, as the Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, has stated he will ignore the ICC arrest warrant on Netanyahu, despite his commitment and responsibility to the EU. This shows that he potentially values his alliance with Netanyahu more than his membership in the European Union.
Since honoring and imposing an International Criminal Court arrest warrant is an obligation in joining and being a member of the European Union, it is possible the EU could determine that Hungary may no longer be a member and move to withdraw its membership. Additionally, even if there is no official action taken, tensions within the European Union may rise, especially among countries with the sharpest criticism of Israel, such as Spain, Belgium, and Ireland, leading to strained cooperation between Hungary and these countries. If this is the case, it is possible Hungary could change its positions, although it is unlikely this would actually happen since its government has already ignored an ICC arrest warrant.
This article can be directly related to the idea, or in this case the lack of, justice. Justice is defined as “the concept of fair treatment based on an accepted set of laws that are applied equally, universally, and with the right of a fair trial”. Normally, this idea of justice would be applied to the idea of the ICC, that countries accept a set of laws that they all respect and oblige by. This action by Prime Minister Orban argues against the idea that “no one is above the law”, as the arrest warrant for Netanyahu, issued by the International Criminal Court, was not imposed by Orban.