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Hungary’s Magyar says ICC-wanted leaders will be detained, despite invite to Netanyahu

46 0
20.04.2026

Hungarian Prime Minister-elect Peter Magyar affirmed Monday that Hungary will detain any leaders wanted by the International Criminal Court, should they visit the country, after pledging during elections that he would cancel outgoing leader Viktor Orban’s withdrawal from the body.

Asked by a reporter to reconcile that stance with his recent invitation to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – who faces an ICC arrest warrant over allegations of war crimes in Gaza – to visit Hungary for a national ceremony, Magyar said he spoke with many world leaders since being elected and “invited everyone, without exception, to Hungary for the 70th anniversary of the 1956 revolution.”

“I also made clear to the Israeli prime minister that we will not back down [from cancelling the ICC withdrawal] because my colleagues have examined it and we can still stop the withdrawal,” he continued, speaking in Hungarian at a press conference.

“If someone is a member of the ICC and a person who is wanted enters the territory of our country, he or she must be detained…every state and head of government is aware of these laws,” he said.

Netanyahu spoke with Magyar last week to congratulate him on his election victory, which ousted the Israeli leader’s longtime ally Viktor Orban.

Netanyahu visited Hungary in April 2025 at the invitation of Orban, who had rejected the ICC warrants and announced withdrawal from the court during the Israeli leader’s visit.

JUST IN: PÉTER MAGYAR SAYS HE WOULD ARREST NETANYAHU IF HE COMES TO HUNGARY: I made it clear that Hungary intends to remain a member of the International Criminal Court. Advertisement if(typeof rgb_remove_toi_dfp_banner != "function" || !rgb_remove_toi_dfp_banner("#Article_Incontent1")){ window.tude = window.tude || { cmd: [] }; tude.cmd.push(function() {........

© The Times of Israel