The ceremony, held at the historic Buda Castle, included a military honor guard and a display of diplomatic pageantry. Israel’s national anthem “Hatikvah” was played.

During a joint press conference, Orbán described the Jewish state as “an anchor in the Middle East,” expressing hope that Netanyahu “can guarantee the security of Israel and your right to self-defense.”

Netanyahu told Orbán: “You support Israel. Proudly. Unstintingly. You stand with us at the E.U., you stand with us at the U.N., and you’ve just taken a bold and principled decision on the ICC.”

“We will smash the Iranian axis. The Iranian terror axis, which threatens not only us but Europe and many of our neighbors in the Middle East. We’re committed to doing so, and by doing that, we are also protecting Europe,” the prime minister stated. “Maybe there are some in Europe who don’t understand this, but Viktor Orbán understands this.”

Orbán posted a message on X welcoming Netanyahu to the country, calling it “the safest place in Europe.”

Netanyahu also met with Hungarian President Tamás Sulyok at the Presidential Palace.

Netanyahu landed in Hungary in the early hours of Thursday morning for a four-day visit at the invitation of Orbán.

“Welcome to Budapest, #BenjaminNetanyahu!” Hungarian Defense Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky posted to social media, greeting Netanyahu at the airport with a military honor guard.

Orbán invited Netanyahu in November, a day after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for the Israeli premier and his former defense minister Yoav Gallant.

Although Hungary is a signatory to the ICC and obliged to act on its warrants, Orbán wrote in a Nov. 22 letter to Netanyahu that he was “shocked” by the court’s “shameful decision.”

He vowed it would have “no impact whatsoever on the Hungarian-Israeli alliance and friendship” and extended an invitation to Netanyahu, promising his country “will ensure your safety and freedom.”

The ICC has no enforcement arm and relies on member states to carry out its warrants.

During Netanyahu’s visit, a senior Cabinet minister announced that Budapest would withdraw from the International Criminal Court.

“The withdrawal process will begin on Thursday, in line with Hungary’s constitutional and international legal obligations,” a spokesperson for Gergely Gulyás, minister of the Hungarian Prime Minister’s Office, wrote on X.

When the ICC first announced the arrest warrants, Orbán told Hungarian public broadcaster Kossuth Radio that it was “fundamentally wrong” and an “outrageously brazen” political decision that would lead to “the discrediting of international law,” The New York Times reported .

The ICC issued the warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant for crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed from at least Oct. 8, 2023, until at least May 20, 2024, the day the prosecution filed the applications for warrants.

In a separate statement, the court ordered the arrest of Mohammed Deif, the commander of Hamas’s “military” wing, who according to the Israel Defense Forces was killed in an airstrike on July 13.

Netanyahu wants to undermine the ICC’s decision by “flying to places where there’s no risk of arrest, and in doing so, he’s also paving the way to normalize his future travels,” Moshe Klughaft, an international strategic consultant and former adviser to Netanyahu, told AFP.

“His ultimate goal is to regain the ability to travel wherever he wants,” he said.

This is the second international visit for Netanyahu since the ICC issued its warrants. In February, he visited the United States to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump.

On Feb. 6, Trump sanctioned the ICC via executive order for its arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant. The sanctions hit ICC officials, employees and their immediate family members with financial penalties and visa restrictions.

The ICC has initiated “illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel,” the executive order stated.

The court’s “malign conduct” threatens “to infringe upon the sovereignty of the United States and undermines the critical national security and foreign policy work of the United States government and our allies, including Israel.”

Orban first floated the idea of quitting the ICC after Trump’s executive order. “It’s time for Hungary to review what we’re doing in an international organization that is under U.S. sanctions,” the Hungarian leader tweeted in February.

Netanyahu is scheduled to conclude his visit to Hungary on Sunday.