Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced on Friday that he has invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit Hungary to protest against the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
"We have no choice but to challenge this decision. I will invite Mr Netanyahu to come to Hungary, where I can guarantee that the ICC ruling will have no effect," said Orbán in an interview on public radio.
On Thursday, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defence minister Yoav Gallant and the head of the armed wing of Hamas, Mohammed Deif (who is believed to be dead), for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
This warrant limits the Israeli Prime Minister's movements, since all of the 124 signatories to the Rome Statue, which set up the Court, have a legal obligation to arrest him if he enters its territory. Hungary signed the Statute on 15 January 1999, and ratified it in 2001.
Netanyahu reacted by claiming the arrest warrant against him for international crimes was baseless and "anti-Semitic". On Friday, he praised the Hungarian Prime Minister's "moral clarity" in a statement.
Geert Wilders, leader of the Dutch far-right PVV party, also pledged his support for the Israeli leader. He is scheduled to meet Netanyahu during a planned trip to Israel in early December. "The world has gone mad," Wilders wrote in English on social media on Thursday.
However, despite being in government, PVV received a statement from Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp underlining that the Netherlands would, in principle, comply with the ICC's decision if any of the individuals in question visited the country.
Justice to be upheld
Belgium and the European Union also vowed on Thursday to support the ICC's independent investigation. Outgoing EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell asserted that the arrest warrants must be "respected and executed."
"Those responsible for crimes committed in Israel and Gaza must be prosecuted at the highest level, whoever they are," stated the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on social media.
In June, Belgium was part of a cross-regional core group of 5 countries which initiated a joint statement by 93 UN Member States who all pledged their support of the International Criminal Court after it was subjected to political attacks for carrying out its international role.
