The Palestinian resistance group Hamas has condemned a decision by Hungary to exit the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Hungary announced the decision on Thursday shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Budapest for a four-day visit.
Netanyahu faces an arrest warrant issued by the ICC for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, where more than 50,500 people have been killed, mostly women and children, in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023.
"We consider this decision an immoral position that represents blatant complicity with a war criminal on the run from international justice, and a flagrant violation of international law and the principles of human justice," Hamas said in a statement.
"Hungary's decision constitutes a slap in the face of international justice and embodies the policy of double standards pursued by some Western governments, most notably Hungary and the US, which undermines the international judicial system, encourages impunity, and represents a direct threat to global peace and stability."
The announcement came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in the Hungarian capital, Budapest, despite an international arrest warrant against him over his conduct of the war in the Gaza Strip.
'Biased and shameful decision'
Hamas urged the Hungarian government to "immediately rescind this biased and shameful decision, fulfil its legal obligations, and hand over the war criminal Netanyahu to the ICC to hold him accountable for his crimes and receive just punishment for the massacres and genocide he committed against our Palestinian people."
Netanyahu's visit to Hungary marks the first time he has set foot on European soil since the ICC issued an arrest warrant for him and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant last November.
Human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have called on Hungary to arrest Netanyahu and hand him over to the ICC.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on Gaza.
Palestinians fear that Israel's intention is to depopulate an area Benjamin Netanyahu calls the "Morag Axis" indefinitely, leaving many hundreds of thousands of people permanently homeless in one of the poorest and most crowded territories on earth.
