The Hague court seeks Hungary's explanation for not arresting Netanyahu

(Patria) - Judges of the International Criminal Court are asking Hungary to explain why it failed to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he visited Budapest earlier this month.

The Hague-based court has initiated contempt of court proceedings against Hungary after Netanyahu was welcomed with a red carpet despite an arrest warrant for alleged crimes against humanity in the Gaza war.

During the visit, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced that his country would leave the court, claiming on local radio that the ICC "is no longer an impartial court, not a legal one, but a political court".

We signed an international treaty, but we never took all the steps that would otherwise make it applicable in Hungary," Orban said, referring to the fact that the Hungarian parliament never incorporated the court's statute into Hungarian law.

Days before Netanyahu's arrival, the president of the court's oversight body wrote to the Hungarian government reminding it of its specific obligation to comply with the court's arrest and surrender requests.

Hungary has until May 23 to submit evidence in its defense.