Hungary to halt withdrawal from International Criminal Court, says premier-elect

Hungary's prime minister-elect on Monday announced that Budapest would halt withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC), saying visiting leaders sought by the court must be arrested.

Hungarian Prime Minister-elect Peter Magyar told reporters at Hungexpo Budapest Congress and Exhibition Centre that he will halt Hungary's withdrawal from the International Criminal Court, a process initiated by the outgoing Viktor Orban government last year.

He noted that if someone who is a member of the ICC and a wanted person enters the country, they should be detained, the Hungarian news portal Telex reported.

"I don’t need to tell you everything on the phone," he said in response to a question about whether he spoke about this with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is sought by the ICC along with Yoav Gallant, the former defense minister of Israel.

Magyar announced last week that he would reverse Orban's decision in June 2025 to leave the ICC, which was made after the court issued the warrant for Netanyahu.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu plans to attend a ceremony in October commemorating the 70th anniversary of Hungarian Uprising.