The diplomatic moves would serve to strengthen the alliance between Hungary, Israel and the United States at a time of fractious divisions over foreign policy within the European Union.
(April 2, 2025 / JNS) Hungary is expected to announce during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s official state visit on Thursday that it is withdrawing from the International Criminal Court in The Hague and that it is moving its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, JNS has learned.
The diplomatic moves would serve to strengthen the alliance between Hungary, Israel and the United States at a time of fractious divisions over foreign policy within the European Union.
The Israeli leader travels to Budapest late Wednesday night to meet with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Thursday as part of an official four-day visit.
Netanyahu’s rare wartime trip to Hungary is his first visit to Europe since the ICC issued an arrest warrant for him and Yoav Gallant, his former defense minister, last year for alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip. His wife, Sara Netanyahu, will accompany him on the visit.
Orban had invited Netanyahu to visit Budapest the day after the ICC decision last year, and said he would not enforce the arrest warrant.
Hungary’s Honorary Consul in Israel said bilateral ties were stronger than ever before, and Hungary under Orbán was “by far” the strongest ally Israel has in the European Union.
“The relations between Hungary and Israel are excellent, and develop every day to an additional level,” Honorary Consul David Wiernik told JNS on Wednesday. “The recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and the move to Jerusalem, is very important to the State of Israel and is much more than a symbolic move.”
‘Interfering in an ongoing conflict’
Earlier this year, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar visited Hungary and thanked Budapest for its stance against the “politicized and corrupt” ICC.
Orbán has accused the court of “interfering in an ongoing conflict for political purposes” and has called the court’s decision to issue the arrest warrant “brazen, cynical and completely unacceptable.”
Neither Israel nor the United States is party to the court, and the Trump administration has sanctioned them for their actions against Israel.