Netanyahu appreciates Orbán's invitation, Israel believes the invite puts Hungary on right side of history

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appreciates Viktor Orbán's gesture and is confident that the Prime Minister's Office will soon respond to the invitation, Israel's Embassy in Hungary said in response to our inquiry.

The Hungarian Prime Minister reacted to the International Criminal Court's (ICC) arrest warrant for Netanyahu on war crimes charges in a radio address on Friday by announcing that he would invite his Israeli counterpart for a visit.

International institutions are not acting with circumspection when it comes to certain decisions," Viktor Orbán said, adding that the ICC's decision is cynical because it interferes with an ongoing conflict to serve political interests. "There is no other option here, we must oppose this decision", he said, adding that the ICC's decision would be of no effect in Hungary.

“Israel appreciates that Hungary doesn't only see the problematic nature of the ICC decision, but is ready to take clear and unequivocal step to show that such a decision has no place in the world.”

– the Israeli embassy wrote.

They see such a meeting as sending a clear message about "what is right and what is wrong".

“Hungary has chosen to stand on the right side of history and has cast its vote in support of a democracy's right to protect its own citizens from terror.”

According to the ICC, Netanyahu may have committed crimes against humanity and there are reasonable grounds for that suspicion. Among the Israeli prime minister's crimes, the court lists using the starvation of civilians as warfare, but Netanyahu is also suspected of murder, persecution and other inhumane acts. Israel challenged the jurisdiction of the court in the case, but this objection was rejected.

Netanyahu's office called the court's decision absurd and anti-Semitic, saying "Israel absolutely rejects the absurd and false actions and accusations against it by the International Criminal Court, which is a biased and discriminatory body." They wrote: “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not bow to pressure and will not back down until Israel achieves its objectives in the war.”

The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor requested the issuing of an international arrest warrant in May this year for both Benjamin Netanyahu and the leaders of Hamas over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that erupted on 7 October last year. He also requested an arrest warrant on suspicion of war crimes against Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who has since been killed by Israeli troops.