The Polish president has requested that the government ensure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can choose to attend the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi Auschwitz concentration camp without fear of being arrested based on the International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant against him, a senior aide said today.

The ICC issued arrest warrants in November against Netanyahu, former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Ibrahim al-Masri, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist organization.

Israel condemned the warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant, stating that the country acted in self-defense during the aerial and ground war in Gaza, which was triggered by Hamas’s attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

Netanyahu should participate in the ceremony “unhindered,” says Duda
Yesterday, Wednesday, Bloomberg reported that President Andrzej Duda had sent a letter to Prime Minister Donald Tusk, saying Poland must ensure that Netanyahu can “unhindered” attend the January 27 ceremony at Auschwitz, given the exceptional nature of the event.

Malgorzata Paprocka, the head of Duda’s office, confirmed today to the state news agency PAP that such a letter had been sent.

“In the president’s opinion, this is an important matter – specifically because it concerns Auschwitz. Every person from Israel, every representative of that country’s authorities, must have the opportunity to attend this exceptional event,” she stated.

She added that Duda is awaiting a response. Tusk’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Duda, a right-wing nationalist, has had strained relations with Tusk’s centrist, pro-European government since assuming office in December 2023.

“Netanyahu is not coming to Europe,” replies Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister
Asked by the state broadcaster TVP Info whether Netanyahu could rely on Poland’s guarantees that he would not be arrested, Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said, “There is no such issue because Mr. Netanyahu is not coming to Europe.”

A spokesperson for Netanyahu, who, like Duda, belongs to the hard-right end of the political spectrum, declined to comment. Netanyahu has not stated whether he will attend the Auschwitz memorial ceremony. He has previously attended many commemorative events at Auschwitz.

Over 1.1 million people, mostly Jews, perished in the gas chambers or died of starvation, cold, and disease at Auschwitz, which Nazi Germany established in occupied Poland during World War II.

More than three million of Poland’s 3.2 million Jews were murdered by the Nazis, accounting for approximately half of the Jews killed during the Holocaust.