Hungarian Prime Minister-elect Peter Magyar said his government would enforce the arrest of International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrants if needed, in what appears to be a message to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Speaking to press on Monday, Magyar was asked about him inviting Netanyahu to his swearing-in ceremony despite having an outstanding arrest warrant.
Magyar said he has spoken with several world leaders since his electoral victory and "invited everyone, without exception, to Hungary for the 70th anniversary of the 1956 revolution."
Speaking about Netanyahu in particular, he said that "if someone is a member of the ICC and a person who is wanted enters the territory of our country, he or she must be detained." "Every state and head of government is aware of these laws," he added.
The remarks follow a message from Israeli ambassador to Hungary Maya Kadosh, who said last week that Netanyahu had accepted Magyar's invitation and also invited him to a "government-to-government (G2G) meeting in Jerusalem."
It is now unlikely that Netanyahu travels to Hungary, one of the few allies Israel had left in Europe at the moment.
Magyar said he intends to break from the policies implemented by his predecessor, Viktor Orban, who he has fiercely criticized.
Concretely, Magyar said he will stop the country's veto of a 90-billion-euro loan for Ukraine to continue fighting its war against Russia but will oppose fast-tracking the country's EU membership while the conflict continues.
Along the same lines, he has vowed to end the country's warm relations with Russia. "Hungarians said yesterday they will write their history, not in Moscow, not in Beijing, not in Washington," he said.
It is not clear what his relations with U.S. President Donald Trump will be like, considering he enthusiastically supported Orban, with Vice President JD Vance even traveling to the country last week to support him.
Magyar's Tisza party has secured a two-thirds majority, allowing it to enact major changes to the country and undo many of those conducted by his soon-to-be predecessor. The party got more votes and parliamentary seats than any party before in the history of the country. He has said he intends to convene the parliament to form a new government and take over from Orban in less than a month.
Magyar said in a press conference last week he will seek to form a new government "as quickly as possible" and could take office by May 5, according to The Associated Press.
