Poland clears Israel’s Netanyahu to visit Auschwitz memorial despite war crimes charges

Berlin – The Polish government adopted a decision on Thursday that will allow Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to attend the country’s events later this month to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp of Auschwitz without facing the risk of arrest under the warrant of the International Criminal Court. It was presented as a highly symbolic policy, as Netanyahu is not expected to attend the event.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirmed this move by his government, which does not directly refer to Netanyahu or the ICC warrant for his arrest, but gives a full security guarantee to all high-ranking Israeli officials 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 anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, so that the decision will be considered a “political protest.”

“I guarantee, whether it is the prime minister, the president or the minister – as it is currently announced – of Israeli education, anyone who will come to Oswiecim for the commemoration in Auschwitz will be guaranteed safety and will not be arrested,” said Tusk.

President Andrzej Duda had requested a special dispensation to allow Netanyahu to visit Poland for the Auschwitz memorial service, which will take place eighty years after the Allied forces took over the infamous death camp from German forces and freed the prisoners who were still alive on January 27, 1945. He sent a letter to Tusk asking for Netanyahu’s release , who has attended the annual event many times before, according to a statement confirmed by the Polish presidency.

Duda highlighted the importance of the 80s Auschwitz memorial servicestating that any representatives from Israel, especially those in leadership positions, should be able to participate without legal obstacles.

The ICC issued warrants for Netanyahu’s arrest in Novemberformer Israeli Defense Minister Joav Gallant and the leader of Hamas Mohammed Deif for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas on Israel and the ensuing Gaza war.

The Israeli government has denied that its leader has been charged as a miscarriage of justice, insisting that it stands by its right to defend itself in the war against Hamas.

As a signatory to the United Nations treaty that established the ICC, Poland is responsible for arresting any person with a warrant issued by the court who enters its territory.

Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister, Krzysztof Gawkowski, has already dismissed speculation about any arrest of the Israeli leader, saying Netanyahu was not expected to visit Europe.

The issue comes amid strained relations between Duda, the Polish nationalist leader, and Tusk, the chief executive of the European administration, who took office in December 2023.

In Poland, the president is the head of state, and the incumbent has the power to veto legislation introduced by the government, led by the prime minister, but the president’s vote can be overruled by a three-fifths majority. in parliament.

Auschwitz, built by the Nazis in occupied Poland, became a powerful symbol of atrocities. the Holocaust.

More than 1.1 million people, mostly Jews, were killed by forced labor, starvation, disease and mass murder in the gas chambers of Auschwitz before it was liberated. The number of Polish Jews was reduced, more than three million were killed during World War II, which was almost half of all the victims of the Holocaust.

The annual events marking the liberation of the death camp are meant to remind the world of the horrors committed in Europe eighty years ago.