Hungary to make a shocking decision hours after Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu's state visit.
According to BBC, on Thursday, April 3, government officials have announced that Hungary would be withdrawing from the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The decision was made public hours after Netanyahu, who is under an ICC arrest warrant, visit to Hungary.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban's had invited the Israel's leader after the warrant was issued last November, saying the ruling would have "no effect" in his country.
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In November, ICC judges said there were "reasonable grounds" that Netanyahu had "criminal responsibility" for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Gaza war.
The ICC is a global court, which has the authority to prosecute those accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Hungary is a founding member of the ICC, which counts 125 members states, and will be the first European Union nation to pull out of it.
During a joint press conference, Orban asserted that the ICC had become a "political court."
Along with that, Netanyahu praised Hungary's decision to withdraw as "bold and principled."
Although, Hungary's withdrawal decision carries symbolic weight, it does not have any legal affect on ICC operational capacity.
The US, North Korea, Russia and China are among the nations that are not part of the ICC, and therefore do not recognise its jurisdiction.
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Notably, Israel is appealing against the arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant, and strongly rejects the accusations.
