Hungarian PM Doesn't Want To Comply With ICC, Invite PM Netanyahu To Come

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban/PHOTO via Instagram @orbanvictor

JAKARTA - Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said he would invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit Hungary. The Orban guarantees an arrest warrant for the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Netanyahu "will not be obeyed".

The ICC issued an arrest warrant on Thursday, November 21 for Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant, as well as Hamas leader Ibrahim Al-Masri on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza conflict.

Reported by Reuters on Friday, November 22, Orban, whose country served as president in the European Union for six months, told state radio the ICC's arrest warrant was "wrong" and said Israeli leaders would be able to negotiate in Hungary with adequate security.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can still travel abroad. But the risk is that Netanyahu could be arrested by a member state of the International Criminal Court (ICC) who issued an arrest warrant for a war crime.

Reported by Reuters, Thursday, November 21, the issuance of an ICC arrest warrant is not an official travel ban.

However, they are at risk of being arrested if they travel to the ICC signatory country, which may affect the decision making of individuals included in the arrest warrant.

There is no limit for political leaders, lawmakers, or diplomats to meet with individuals who have an ICC arrest warrant.

But politically, people's perceptions about this may be bad.

The ICC decision considers there to be reasonable reasons to believe that Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

The decision to issue an arrest warrant could also reinforce legal challenges demanding an arms embargo in other countries, as many countries have provisions prohibiting arms sales to countries that may use them in a way that violates international humanitarian law.

There are 124 ICC member states required by a court establishment law to arrest and hand over any individual subject to an ICC arrest warrant if the individual sets foot on their territory.

There is no police, so the arrest of the suspect must be carried out by a member state.

Sanctions for those who do not arrest someone even though there is already an arrest warrant that is nothing more than a diplomatic slap, such as handing over a country to an ICC regulatory body consisting of member states and finally to the UN security council.

ICC members cover all EU countries, UK, Canada, Japan, Brazil, and Australia.

In the Middle East region, Palestinian and Jordanian territories are members of the ICC. Israel is not a member country, nor is the United States.