Hind Rajab Foundation to file legal action ahead of Netanyahu’s planned trip to Hungary

The pro-Palestine advocacy organization Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) says it is launching “urgent legal” action to counter Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned visit to Hungary despite an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant issued over war crimes in Gaza.

“HRF will petition the ICC, call on the Hungarian Public Prosecutor to arrest him, and notify European airspace authorities to deny him passage,” it said in a post on X.

“Legal teams across Europe are also preparing to activate universal jurisdiction if he travels beyond Hungary. HRF urges all European states to uphold international law and refuse safe haven to suspected war criminals,” the post read.

Netanyahu is set to visit Hungary on Wednesday for a four-day trip. He will be visiting Hungary on invitation from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a right-wing populist and staunch supporter of Israel.

Orban previously stated that he would disregard the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant against Netanyahu should he visit the central European country. 

Rights groups have called upon Hungary to arrest and surrender  Netanyahu to the ICC ahead of his reported visit to the country.

The ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former war minister Yoav Gallant, on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity on November 21, 2024.

Netanyahu is accused of using starvation as a method of warfare, intentionally attacking civilians, and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts during his genocidal military campaign in Gaza. 

As a member state of the ICC, Hungary must arrest Netanyahu if he travels to the country and hand him over to the court.

Hungary is one of the 125 countries party to the Rome Statute of the ICC. Member states to the statute are legally obligated to “cooperate fully” with the Court.

Hind Rajab Foundation calls on ICC to issue arrest warrant for top Israeli commander

The HRF says it has filed a case with the ICC, calling for the immediate arrest of the commander of the Israeli military’s 252nd Division, Brigadier General Yehuda Vach, accused of war crimes in Gaza.

Any trip he takes to an ICC member state that does not end in his arrest would embolden Israel to commit further crimes against Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The HRF, a Belgium-based NGO, was formed seven months ago and has pulled together lawyers and activists from around the world to prepare cases against Israeli soldiers based on social media content shared by the soldiers themselves.

The case is the latest in a series of lawsuits brought by the HRF, which has been pursuing justice for the Palestinian victims of the Israeli genocide in Gaza.

The group has filed several complaints in various countries against Israeli forces who participated in the genocidal war on Gaza. It also filed a complaint with the ICC against 1,000 Israeli soldiers.

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