Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó voiced Hungary’s disagreement with the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber’s ruling on February 5, 2021, ascertaining jurisdiction over alleged war crimes in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. According to the Minister, “Hungary does not agree with this decision. During the legal procedure, we already signaled that, according to our position, Palestine does not have criminal jurisdiction over Israeli citizens. We have always supported Israel’s right to defend itself and we believe that peace in the region can only be achieved through negotiations based on mutual respect. The decision of the ICC does not take us closer to this.” The statement came at the heels of a phone conversation between the Minister and his Israeli counterpart, Gabi Ashkenazi. https://hungarytoday.hu/fm-szijjarto-hungary-disagree-icc-ruling-gaza-west-bank-israel/
In his message above, Minister Szijjártó was referring to the fact, that already in February 2020, Hungary, as a Member State of the Rome Statute, filed an amicus brief with the ICC, questioning the Court’s jurisdiction to proceed with this investigation. Hungary on the other hand has long supported Israeli-Arab reconciliation, including the Abraham Accords. Péter Szijjártó was the only European Foreign Minister invited to witness the signature of the Abraham Accords on September 15, 2020.
Hungary is not the only Rome Statute Member State that believes that the ICC overstepped its jurisdiction in this case.
https://www.jpost.com/international/germany-hungary-join-states-opposing-icc-probe-of-israel-658416
