Hungary’s prime minister-elect has suggested he would arrest Benjamin Netanyahu if he entered the country – even though he invited the Israeli leader to visit just days earlier.

Péter Magyar told reporters on Monday that his government will halt Hungary’s planned exit from the International Criminal Court (ICC) before it takes effect on 2 June.

He previously said it would not be possible to stop the withdrawal and therefore Hungary would have to withdraw and then re-enter.

“I made myself clear to the Israeli prime minister too, we are not re-entering… because my colleagues examined the matter, and we can still stop withdrawal until 2 June,” he said.

“The firm intention of the Tisza government is to halt this process and ensure that Hungary remains a member of the ICC,” he added. “If someone is a member of the ICC and a person who is wanted enters our country, then they must be taken into custody.”

“I don’t need to spell it out over the phone,” Magyar added, referring to a call last week in which he invited Netanyahu to attend an October ceremony commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Hungarian Uprising. “I assume that every head of state and government is familiar with these laws.”

It is unclear why Magyar would extend an invitation to Netanyahu and then publicly declare his government’s intention to arrest him should he actually come.

EU leaders are under increasing public pressure to distance themselves from Israel after more than two and a half years of genocide in Gaza, the illegal US-Israeli war on Iran, and Israel’s recent massacres of civilians in Lebanon.

EU foreign ministers are due to discuss potential sanctions against Israel as Spain, Ireland and Slovenia push to suspend the preferential bloc’s trade deal with the apartheid state.

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