Following the success of his summit with American president Donald Trump, he set foot on Hungarian soil, confident that he would not face arrest under the trumped up charges of the International Criminal Court.

Hungary’s premier Viktor Orban had announced in advance of Netanyahu’s visit that his country did not recognise the jurisdiction of the ICC and that his Israeli counterpart was safe from arrest there.

This follows France’s insistence that the warrants for Netanyahu’s arrest are invalid because Israel is not an ICC member. The Israeli PM’s visit to America posed no threat because the US is not a signatory to the ICC in any case.

At least Israel has some major allies. The Jewish state and America this week joined forces to attack strategic targets in Iran and continues to enjoy the full support of Trump in its action against Hamas in Gaza.

But all this distracts from the question of the fate of the hostages still being held in Gaza. Dozens remain and their condition is unknown. No-one knows how many are still alive. Their families are enduring sheer agony as the sadistic Hamas terrorists continue to taunt them by neither releasing them nor providing information as to their wellbeing or otherwise. At the same time, as always, Hamas is content to encourage Israel to continue to attack Gaza, resulting in the deaths of the very people the terror group is supposed to represent and protect — a fact seemingly still lost on much of the world.

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