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Netanyahu Says to Visit Hungary Despite War Crimes Warrant

A portrait of Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hangs on the sidewalk during an anti-government protest calling for action to secure the release of Israeli hostages held captive since the October 7 attacks by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, in front of the Israeli Defense Ministry in the coastal city of Tel Aviv on March 29, 2025. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP)
A portrait of Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hangs on the sidewalk during an anti-government protest calling for action to secure the release of Israeli hostages held captive since the October 7 attacks by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, in front of the Israeli Defense Ministry in the coastal city of Tel Aviv on March 29, 2025. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP)
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Netanyahu Says to Visit Hungary Despite War Crimes Warrant

A portrait of Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hangs on the sidewalk during an anti-government protest calling for action to secure the release of Israeli hostages held captive since the October 7 attacks by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, in front of the Israeli Defense Ministry in the coastal city of Tel Aviv on March 29, 2025. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP)
A portrait of Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hangs on the sidewalk during an anti-government protest calling for action to secure the release of Israeli hostages held captive since the October 7 attacks by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip, in front of the Israeli Defense Ministry in the coastal city of Tel Aviv on March 29, 2025. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit Hungary on April 2, his office said on Sunday, defying an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant issued over alleged war crimes in Gaza.

During his visit, Netanyahu is set to hold talks with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and other senior Hungarian officials before returning to Israel on April 6, AFP reported.

Orban extended an invitation to Netanyahu despite the ICC's arrest warrant issued last year.

One day after the ICC decision in November, Netanyahu thanked Orban for his show of "moral clarity" in extending the invitation.

Netanyahu's office at the time published what it said was a letter from Orban in which the Hungarian premier denounced the ICC decision as a "shameful" move.

The ICC issued warrants for Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant over allegations of crimes against humanity and war crimes -- including starvation as a method of warfare -- in Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza.

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US Senate Confirms Staunch Pro-Israel Conservative Huckabee as Israel Ambassador

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, US President Donald Trump's nominee to be ambassador to Israel, arrives to testify during his Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on March 25, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Getty Images/AFP)
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, US President Donald Trump's nominee to be ambassador to Israel, arrives to testify during his Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on March 25, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Getty Images/AFP)
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US Senate Confirms Staunch Pro-Israel Conservative Huckabee as Israel Ambassador

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, US President Donald Trump's nominee to be ambassador to Israel, arrives to testify during his Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on March 25, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Getty Images/AFP)
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, US President Donald Trump's nominee to be ambassador to Israel, arrives to testify during his Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on March 25, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Getty Images/AFP)

The US Senate on Wednesday backed former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee to be ambassador to Israel, installing a staunch pro-Israel conservative in the high-profile post amid war in Gaza and relations complicated by US tariffs.

The Senate backed Huckabee by 53 to 46, largely along party lines, with Republicans all backing President Donald Trump's nominee and every Democrat except Pennsylvania's John Fetterman voting against him.

An evangelical Christian, Huckabee has been a vocal supporter of Israel throughout his political career and a longtime defender of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Critics said the former Republican presidential candidate was too partisan to represent the United States given the sensitivity of negotiations to end the war in Gaza and avoid broader regional war.

But Huckabee's supporters said he knew Israel well, having visited more than 100 times, and was well positioned to work closely with Trump.

"We urgently need a qualified ambassador in the region, and I have no doubt Mike Huckabee is that person," Republican Senator Jim Risch of Idaho, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said as he urged support for the nominee.