Poland has informed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he will not be arrested if he attends the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
Any representative of the Israeli leadership who wants to participate on January 27 can feel safe and will not be arrested, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said, after the Cabinet agreed on the position.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants late last year for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.
However, Netanyahu said weeks ago that he did not plan to attend the commemoration. According to Tusk, Israel will be represented by its Minister of Education.
A spokesperson for the Polish Foreign Ministry also said there was no indication that Netanyahu wanted to attend the commemoration.
The monument states that delegations from ten countries have already confirmed their presence.
The Nazis murdered more than 1 million people in Auschwitz, the German death camp. They murdered approximately 6 million Jews throughout Europe during the Shoah or Holocaust.
The court’s arrest warrant sparked intense international criticism because it was the first international arrest warrant against a Western head of government.
Canada, Italy and the Netherlands – the court’s host country – immediately said they would honor their obligations, which would mean Netanyahu would be arrested on any visit.
Others were more cautious, such as France, which said it would respect the law while also questioning whether Netanyahu could enjoy immunity.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was unequivocal and demonstratively extended an invitation to Netanyahu, saying he would ignore the order.
Before the Polish cabinet’s decision, President Andrzej Duda wrote to Tusk’s government to protect Netanyahu from arrest if he attended.
Tusk expressed clear annoyance at Duda’s initiative. Duda, from the main opposition party PiS, has often hindered the government in the past.
Tusk said Duda was aware that the government was working on a resolution to protect Israeli representatives at the commemoration. “There are matters that must be handled with discretion, especially when they are so weighty and so complex,” Tusk said.
The Polish Prime Minister emphasized that his government generally recognizes the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.
“This decision concerns the commemoration of the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. For us, it is very important that Poland does not become one of the countries that wants to openly and demonstratively defy the decision of international courts,” he said.
