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Hungarian lawmakers repeal ICC withdrawal initiated by Orban in gesture to Netanyahu

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27.05.2026

Hungarian lawmakers voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to stay in the International Criminal Court, halting a withdrawal process set in motion by nationalist ex-premier Viktor Orban last year in response to an ICC arrest warrant against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The 199-member parliament voted 133 for, 37 against, with five abstentions, to formally repeal the year-long withdrawal, which was set to take effect on Tuesday next week. It is now up to President Tamas Sulyok, an Orban ally, to sign the legislation into law.

Hungary’s pro-EU conservative Prime Minister Peter Magyar, whose landslide election win in April ended 16 years of Orban rule, had vowed to reverse the exit process. The ICC legislative body hailed the “important decision” after Budapest announced Friday that it would discontinue the withdrawal.

On Monday, Magyar submitted the bill repealing Hungary’s withdrawal from the ICC. The bill, which was fast-tracked through parliament, said that, “in the interest of international peace and security, and for the protection of human rights, it is… necessary to hold those who committed the worst of international crimes, accountable in an international court.”

Magyar previously indicated that Hungary would execute ICC warrants against anyone, even........

© The Times of Israel