Israeli PM applauds Hungary's ICC exit

Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu applauded Hungary for its "bold and principled" decision to leave the International Criminal Court as he visited Budapest on Thursday, a rare trip abroad in defiance of an ICC arrest warrant.

Netanyahu, invited by Hungary's right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban, faces the ICC arrest warrant over allegations of war crimes in Gaza as Israel has expanded its military operation in the Palestinian enclave. Hungary has rejected the idea of arresting Netanyahu and has called the warrant "brazen."

In an announcement timed with Netanyahu's visit on Thursday, Orban said Hungary would withdraw completely from the ICC, an organisation set up more than two decades ago to prosecute those accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.

"This is no longer an impartial court, a rule-of-law court, but rather a political court. This has become the clearest in light of its decisions on Israel," Orban said at a news conference with Netanyahu where they did not take questions.