Hungary to leave the 'political' ICC, Orbán says as he hosts Netanyahu

Hungary will leave the international criminal court because it has become "political", the country's prime minister, Viktor Orbán, said as he welcomed his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu - the subject of an ICC arrest warrant - to Budapest for an official visit.

- Jon Henley

Standing beside Netanyahu at the start of the four-day visit, Orbán said Hungary was convinced the "otherwise very important court" had "diminished into a political forum".

Netanyahu hailed "a bold and principled" decision. "I thank you, Viktor... It's important for all democracies," the Israeli prime minister said. "It's important to stand up to this corrupt organisation."

Netanyahu has been the subject of an international arrest warrant since November over allegations of war crimes in Gaza.

He also said he believed Israel and Hungary, both of which are led by rightwing nationalist governments, were "fighting a similar battle for the future of our common civilisation, our Judeo-Christian civilisation".

Orbán's chief of staff, Gergely Gulyás, announced shortly after Netanyahu landed at Budapest airport that the government would "initiate the withdrawal procedure on Thursday in accordance with the constitutional and international legal framework".