Magyar Invites Netanyahu, But Would Have Him Arrested + Video

At a press conference on Monday, the president of the Tisza Party spoke both about inviting Benjamin Netanyahu to Budapest and about the possible detention of the Israeli prime minister. Peter Magyar stated that, as a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Hungary would be obliged to arrest the politician if he is under an active warrant, and emphasized their firm intention to keep Hungary within the institution. “If a country is a member of the International Criminal Court and a person under an arrest warrant enters its territory, that person must be taken into custody,” Peter Magyar said—effectively issuing an open threat toward the leader of the Jewish state.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu (Photo: AFP)

As Magyar Nemzet previously highlighted, Peter Magyar invited the Israeli prime minister to Hungary to attend the commemoration in Budapest marking the 70th anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. At his Monday press conference, he reaffirmed this invitation, while also indicating that Hungary would remain a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Peter Magyar invited the Israeli prime minister to Hungary (Photo: MTI)

Peter Magyar Invited Netanyahu, But Would Have Him Arrested

During the press briefing, he noted that Hungary’s withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC) could still be halted, and that it is their clear intention for the country to remain a member of the institution.

If a country is a member of the ICC and a person sought by the court arrives on its territory, that person is taken into custody,

– he said in connection with his invitation to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. With this, he effectively issued an open threat toward the leader of the Jewish state. Peter Magyar also said that he had invited every head of state he had spoken with to Hungary for the 70th anniversary of the 1956 revolution.

BREAKING:🇭🇺❌🇮🇱🔥Newly elected Hungarian PM Péter Magyar announces Netanyahu will be arrested if he enters the Hungary due to an existing International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant.#hungary #USNews #PeterMagyar #orbanviktor #USDebtCrisis #IsraelPalestine… pic.twitter.com/AxU1v2a4Gj

— SKM News (@skmtimesnews) April 21, 2026

In addition to Netanyahu, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant in 2024 for former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Under the warrants, Netanyahu faces the threat of arrest if he travels.

The court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, requested the arrest warrants in May 2024, stating that there were reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant bore criminal responsibility for causing mass starvation in Gaza, which qualifies as a war crime and a crime against humanity. At the time, Peter Szijjarto stated that Hungary rejects the use of any institution of the international judicial system as a political tool. 

I assured him that Hungary rejects the use of any institution of the international judicial system as a political tool, and that is what has happened here. This decision has brought shame upon the international judicial system by equating the prime minister of a country attacked by a heinous terrorist assault with the leaders of the terrorist organization that carried out that heinous attack. The decision is unacceptable,

– FM Peter Szijjarto stated. Israeli President Isaac Herzog, meanwhile, said that “the ICC’s outrageous decision has, in bad faith, turned universal justice into a mockery. It insults the victims who fight for justice—from the Allied victory over the Nazis to the present day.” In May 2025, Hungary’s National Assembly voted to withdraw from the International Criminal International Criminal Court.

Cover photo: Benjamin Netanyahu (Photo: AFP)