Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar thanked Hungary for its stance against the “politicized and corrupt” International Criminal Court on Thursday, speaking during a diplomatic visit to Budapest.
“We are grateful for your stance alongside Israel against the ICC’s arrest warrants and for inviting Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu to Hungary,” Jerusalem’s top diplomat told reporters, speaking at a press conference with Péter Szijjártó, Hungary’s minister for foreign affairs.
Sa’ar said that the ICC has “severely undermined its own credibility.”
“The International Criminal Court is politicized and corrupt. Its actions cause significant damage to international law. It is unprecedented for the ICC to act against a democratic country fighting terrorism, operating in accordance with international law and the rule of law,” he said.
Sa’ar noted that under the leadership of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Hungary has become “a close friend and an important ally of Israel.”
The cooperation is “an alliance between two proud, sovereign, free and independent nations,” Sa’ar said. He added, “I appreciate the significant support of the Hungarian government on the international stage, especially in the European Union and the United Nations.”
According to Jerusalem’s readout of the private meeting between Sa’ar and Szijjártó, the two men also discussed Israel’s ongoing operations against terrorist organizations in Lebanon, Yemen, Syria and the Gaza Strip.
The diplomats were said to have spoken about the plight of Israeli-Hungarian hostage Omri Miran, who was taken by Hamas during the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre and is expected to be released in the second phase of the ceasefire agreement with the Palestinian terrorist group.
Later on Thursday afternoon, the Israeli diplomat met with President Tamás Sulyok, whom he thanked for Hungary’s “clear moral distinction between good and evil and for standing with Israel.”
“I look forward to welcoming President Sulyok in Israel and reciprocating his warm friendship and hospitality,” Sa’ar tweeted following the meeting.
Hungary has on several occasions blocked E.U. initiatives to isolate or punish the Jewish state by preventing the consensus required for some moves.
In November, Orbán invited Netanyahu to Budapest despite an ICC warrant for his arrest, which the Hungarian dismissed as an “outrageously brazen” and a “cynical” political act disguised as a judicial one.
“I shall guarantee him that if he comes, the International Criminal Court’s verdict shall have no effect in Hungary,” Orbán said.
