Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel began a visit to Hungary on Thursday, confident that Europe’s declared bastion of “illiberal democracy” would disregard an arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court in November.

This is Mr. Netanyahu’s first visit to a country that recognizes the court’s jurisdiction, potentially leading to his arrest. Despite this, in February, he visited Washington to discuss the future of Gaza with President Trump, who, like Israel, has never recognized the international court.

In Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government has stated it will ignore its obligations as a party to the 1998 treaty that established the court.

Mr. Orban invited Mr. Netanyahu to visit shortly after the court issued its arrest warrant, assuring him that the court’s judgment will have no effect in Hungary.

Hungary’s propaganda machine has used antisemitic tropes in its continuous attacks on George Soros, a Hungarian-born American financier and philanthropist.

However, Prime Minister Orban, a strong supporter of Israel, has welcomed the Israeli prime minister as a kindred spirit due to their shared ethnonationalist views and reverence for national sovereignty.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Mr. Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.

For Mr. Netanyahu, the Hungary visit provides an opportunity to project strength abroad and statesmanship at home, despite growing opposition to his leadership both domestically and internationally.

Amnesty International condemned Mr. Netanyahu’s visit to Hungary as an effort to undermine the International Criminal Court and its work, considering it an insult to the victims of these crimes seeking justice.

For Prime Minister Orban, welcoming Mr. Netanyahu despite the international court’s opposition offers a chance to attract attention and secure support from Washington.

Both Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Orban have strongly denounced accusations against them, seeing them as efforts to derail the will of voters and limit their sovereignty.

Hungary, which ratified the treaty establishing the International Criminal Court in 2001, has not incorporated its terms into its domestic legal code, freeing the country from any obligation to follow the court’s rulings.