Hungary will withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC), its government said Wednesday, as the country’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban welcomed Israeli Prime Minister and ICC fugitive Benjamin Netanyahu to Budapest.

BUDAPEST: Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu applauded Hungary for its "bold and principled" decision to leave the International Criminal Court as he visited Budapest on Thursday (Apr 3), a rare trip abroad in defiance of an ICC arrest warrant.

Hungarian PM Viktor Orban invited Netanyahu to Budapest a day after the ICC issued an arrest warrant over allegations of war crimes in Gaza.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán denounced the only permanent global tribunal for war crimes and genocide, which issued the warrant for his Israeli ally.

It was only the second foreign trip Netanyahu has made since the International Criminal Court issued the warrant against him in November. As Netanyahu arrived in Budapest, Hungary said it will begin the procedure of withdrawing from the ICC.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office is once again ensnared in scandal after police arrested two of his close associates this week on suspicion of accepting money from Qatar to promote a positiv

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, adding that he may visit the United States next week.

The decision comes as the Israeli leader makes his first trip to Europe since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for him over the war in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the stand again on Wednesday in his on-going corruption trial for alleged corruption.