Hungary’s incoming Prime Minister Péter Magyar has put Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on notice: if he visits Hungary while subject to an International Criminal Court arrest warrant, he will be detained. The statement marks a fundamental break from the policy of outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who hosted Netanyahu in Budapest in April 2025 and shielded him from the warrant by announcing Hungary’s withdrawal from the ICC.
What Magyar said
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Magyar — whose Tisza party won a historic landslide over Orbán’s Fidesz party on April 12, securing a two-thirds parliamentary majority — was asked directly about Netanyahu’s planned autumn visit to Budapest. Netanyahu had already accepted an invitation to attend the ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Uprising.
“I made this clear to the Israeli prime minister as well … it is the Tisza government’s firm intention to stop this and ensure that Hungary remains a member of the ICC. If a country is a member of the ICC and a person who is wanted by the ICC enters our territory, then that person must be taken into custody.”
— Péter Magyar, Hungary PM-elect, April 2026
Magyar added that every head of state and government is aware of these laws. He said he had spoken with Netanyahu directly by phone since his election victory and communicated Hungary’s legal obligations without ambiguity.
The ICC warrant and the reversal of Hungary's withdrawal
The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in November 2024 on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Under the court’s statute, all member states are in principle obligated to detain individuals subject to such warrants when they enter their territory.
When Netanyahu visited Budapest in April 2025, Orbán announced Hungary’s withdrawal from the ICC — a process that takes one year to take effect after a formal notification is filed with the United Nations Secretary-General. Magyar has pledged to halt that withdrawal by June 2, the one-year deadline, which would keep Hungary inside the court and fully bound by its obligations.
A divided Europe on enforcement
Hungary’s policy shift places it among a growing bloc of European states that have signaled they would enforce the warrant, while other major powers have declined to do so or found legal workarounds. France has pointed to Article 98 of the ICC statute, which says a country cannot act inconsistently with its obligations under international law regarding diplomatic immunity — a reading that not all legal experts accept. Germany and Italy have both effectively refused enforcement during earlier visits.
Magyar has pledged to halt Hungary's ICC withdrawal by June 2 and detain anyone subject to an active arrest warrant who enters Hungarian territory. He has communicated this position directly to Netanyahu.
Foreign Minister Micheál Martin has indicated that Ireland would comply with any ICC warrant issued against a foreign leader visiting the country.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has repeatedly emphasized the primacy of international law, a position widely interpreted as supporting enforcement of the ICC warrant.
France has argued that arresting Netanyahu would contravene its bilateral agreements with Israel, pointing to Article 98 of the ICC statute, which addresses conflicts between ICC obligations and diplomatic immunity under other treaties.
Then-Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in April 2025 that he could not imagine Germany arresting Netanyahu, effectively signaling non-enforcement of the warrant.
Italy granted immunity to Netanyahu during a visit, placing itself alongside Germany and the former Hungarian government in declining to enforce the ICC arrest warrant.
Viktor Orbán hosted Netanyahu in Budapest in April 2025 and guaranteed him immunity before announcing Hungary's withdrawal from the ICC — a process that takes one year under the court's statute.
The ICC's enforcement problem
The Netanyahu case has laid bare a structural weakness in the ICC system. The court has no independent enforcement mechanism and relies entirely on member states to carry out arrests. When powerful states decline to act — whether citing legal exceptions, bilateral agreements, or political will — the warrant becomes effectively unenforceable. Magyar’s declaration is significant precisely because it signals that at least one country is prepared to treat the warrant as a binding legal obligation rather than a diplomatic inconvenience.
Whether Netanyahu proceeds with the planned visit — and whether his office re-evaluates the invitation given the explicit warning from Budapest — remains to be seen. The ceremony marking the Hungarian Uprising is scheduled for October 2026, which gives Magyar’s government several months to formally assume power, stop the ICC withdrawal, and put the legal framework in place.