Poland’s prime minister said Benjamin Netanyahu would have safe passage and not face arrest if the Israeli leader travels to the country to attend a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz this month.
The comments came after Polish President Andrzej Duda urged the prime minister to guarantee Netanyahu’s security, citing the “absolutely exceptional circumstances” of the event, according to a letter seen by Bloomberg News.
The Israeli leader is subject to an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes in Gaza.
“Anyone who wants to attend the commemoration of Auschwitz, any representative of the State of Israel, security will be guaranteed,” Prime Minister Donald Tusk told reporters in Warsaw on Thursday.
The ceremony is scheduled to be held on Jan. 27 in southern Poland at the site of the Nazi death camp. It was not clear whether Netanyahu planned to attend — Tusk suggested Israel might send a cabinet minister. As of Monday, a spokesman for the Israeli leader said no invitation had been received.
People holding Israeli flags attend the International March of the Living at the former Auschwitz death camp in Brzezinka near Oświęcim, Poland, in May 2024. Photo: Reuters
The Hague-based International Criminal Court issued the arrest warrant in November at the request of the court’s chief prosecutor in connection with Israel’s military campaign against Hamas, which is designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.
