Unenforced ICC Arrest Warrants are just Part of the wider Israel impunity Framework

Unenforced ICC arrest warrants are just part of the wider Zionist impunity framework

( Middle East Monitor ) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be following up on his Hungarian counterpart Victor Orban’s invitation to visit his country, Israeli media have reported. This, despite the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for Netanyahu, which signatories to the Rome Statute are obliged to enforce. As is usually the case when it comes to Israel, however, possibilities take precedence over absolutes.

The visit is scheduled to take place before Easter. “Once the date of the visit is confirmed, we will, of course, announce it, taking into account the extremely important security considerations in this case,” said Orban’s Chief of Staff Gergely Gulays.

In February, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó announced Hungary’s decision to reassess “its future participation” in the ICC, allegedly because the international arrest warrants against Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant make the court’s actions “seriously politicised”.

Orban’s invitation to Netanyahu is not the only one from a European country.

Soon after his electoral victory, Chancellor Friedrich Merz invited him to Germany. “I have also promised him that we will find ways and means for him to visit Germany and also to be able to leave again without being arrested in Germany,” Merz told journalists in Berlin. “I think it is a completely absurd idea that an Israeli prime minister cannot visit the Federal Republic of Germany.”

Earlier this year, Italy also announced that it would not enforce the ICC arrest warrants, while France cast doubt over them, claiming that Netanyahu has immunity since Israel is not a member of the court.

The truth is that despite the arrest warrants, few EU countries have stated explicitly that they will obey the ICC and enforce its warrants when it comes to Netanyahu (and Gallant, presumably). Which means that the ICC’s lack of authority over each individual country’s decision whether or not to enforce the warrants enables Netanyahu to avoid prosecution for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. And enables him to continue committing them.

Genocide has already been normalised.

And while Israel continues to target Gaza and the occupied West Bank, Netanyahu’s forthcoming visit to Hungary will reinforce that normalisation. Hungary’s stance, as well as that of Germany, may be the most explicit in tone. However, the politics of both countries expose what the EU attempts to do through diplomatic channels; they ensure Israel’s protection at all costs, even if that means that tens of thousands of Palestinians have to be massacred in the process.

“Skating,” Digital, Dream / Dreamland v3 / Crop2Comic / IbisPaint, 2025

In November last year, Orban said that the arrest warrants are “complete defamation” and that his invitation to Netanyahu signals that he had no other choice but to go against the court’s decision. It is bizarre to say that a prime minister facing international arrest warrants over a genocide that was not only live-streamed, but also lauded and supported in various ways by Israelis and the international community, is now being “defamed” by a system that is replete with bureaucracy and loopholes. But that’s far-right populism for you: bizarre.

However, Orban is voicing what many world leaders are no doubt trying to work out, albeit less blatantly. The ceasefire negotiations, for example, rested more on what Netanyahu wants rather than justice and international law. And the fact that the Israeli narrative is so entrenched in global discourse gives more cover to Netanyahu and decisions such as those taken by Hungary, Germany and Italy.

If other countries emulate Hungary’s example, we must question the significance and future of the ICC in the face of opposition from states that are parties to the Rome Statute. They have opened the door to international anarchy.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor or Informed Comment.

Via Middle East Monitor

Unless otherwise stated in the article above, this work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.