Berlin — The Polish government passed a resolution Thursday that would allow Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to attend events in the country later this month to mark 80 years since the liberation of the Nazi death camp Auschwitz without risk being arrested under an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court. . This was presented as a largely symbolic policy, as Netanyahu is not expected to attend the event.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirmed his government’s decision, which does not directly refer to Netanyahu or the ICC arrest warrant against him, but rather gives a general security guarantee to all senior Israeli officials wishing to attend the Auschwitz memorial service.
Tusk told reporters on Thursday that, according to information from the Israeli embassy in Warsaw, Israel plans to send its education minister to represent the nation at the 80th commemoration of the liberation of Auschwitz, so the resolution could be considered a “political demonstration”.
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“I confirm, whether it is the Prime Minister, the President or the Minister – as is currently declared – of Israel’s education, whoever comes to Oswiecim for the Auschwitz celebrations will be assured of their safety and will not be detained,” Tusk said.
President Andrzej Duda had requested a special exemption to allow Netanyahu to travel to Poland for the Auschwitz memorial service, which will take place eight decades after Allied forces seized the notorious death camp from German troops and released the surviving prisoners on January 27, 1945. sent a letter to Tusk requesting an exemption for Netanyahu, who had attended the annual event several times before, according to a statement confirmed by the Polish president’s office.
Duda highlighted the importance of the 80th Auschwitz Memorial Serviceaffirming that all representatives of Israel, especially those in leadership positions, should be able to participate without legal obstacles.
The ICC issued arrest warrants in November for Netanyahuformer Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant and leader of Hamas Mohammed Deif for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 and the subsequent war in Gaza.
The Israeli government vehemently rejected its leader’s indictment as a miscarriage of justice, insisting it respected his right to self-defense in waging the war against Hamas.
As a signatory country to the United Nations treaty that created the ICC, Poland is required to detain anyone subject to an unexecuted arrest warrant issued by the Court if they enter its territory.
Polish Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski had previously dismissed speculation about a possible arrest of the Israeli leader, saying Netanyahu should not travel to Europe anyway.
The issue was raised amid strained relations between Duda, Poland’s conservative and nationalist leader, and the centrist, pro-European Tusk administration, which took office in December 2023.
In Poland, the president is the highest official in the country and the person in this position has the power to veto legislation presented by the government, headed by the prime minister, but a presidential veto can be overridden by a vote by a three-fifths majority. in parliament.
Auschwitz, built by the Nazi regime in occupied Poland, has become a powerful symbol of war atrocities. the Holocaust.
More than 1.1 million people, mostly Jews, were killed by forced labor, starvation, disease and mass executions in the gas chambers of Auschwitz before its liberation. Poland’s Jewish population was decimated, with more than three million dead during World War II, accounting for nearly half of all Holocaust victims.
The annual events marking the liberation of the death camp aim to remind the world of the horrors perpetrated in Europe eight decades ago.
