Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

arrived in Budapest

on Thursday, marking his first visit to Europe since 2023 despite an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against him.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor

invited Netanyahu

last November, promising Hungary would not enforce the ICC arrest warrant, which he called politically motivated.

The ICC issued arrest warrants

for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, accusing them of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including using starvation as a weapon towards Palestinians in Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

Hamas is recognized as a terrorist organization by the US, the EU, and Israel, among others.

Hungary’s Defense Minister Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky received Netanyahu at the airport with military honors.

A joint press conference with Orban is expected at 12:30 p.m. (1030 GMT).

Orban is expected to back Netanyahu on US President Donald Trump’s plan to relocate Palestinians from Gaza. That plan has been criticized by UN experts as ethnic cleansing.

Experts say Netanyahu is strategically visiting countries where he faces no risk of arrest, aiming to gradually normalize his international travel.

In February, Germany’s chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz said he will find

“ways and means”

for Netanyahu to visit Germany.