Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has guaranteed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a safe visit to Poland to mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp, despite an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against him, after Polish President Andrzej Duda asked the government to allow Netanyahu to attend the event, on Thursday, the 9th of January, reports Politico.
Last November, the ICC issued a warrant against Netanyahu for alleged war crimes in Gaza.
“I confirm that, whether it is the Israeli prime minister, president or education minister, as is currently declared, anyone who comes to Oswiecim for the commemoration event in Auschwitz will be assured of safety and will not be detained,” Tusk told reporters on Thursday.
A resolution published by Tusk’s office on Thursday states: “The Polish government considers that the safe participation of Israeli leaders in the commemorative event on the 27th of January 2025 is part of the tribute paid to the Jewish people, millions of whose people became victims of the Holocaust carried out by the Third Reich.”
The assurances came after Polish President Duda, who represents the opposition Law and Justice party, this week asked the Tusk government to ensure that Netanyahu would not be arrested if he attended the 27th of January commemoration, Duda’s spokesman confirmed on Thursday.
Israel has been waging a military offensive in the Gaza enclave since October 2023, killing tens of thousands of people in an effort to root out Hamas in response to an attack on Israel launched by the Palestinian militant group on the 7th of October 2023.
The ICC warrant means that Netanyahu could be arrested if he travels to any of the 120 countries that are members of the ICC, although some of them, including France and Hungary, have said they will not arrest Netanyahu.
According to the Polish media Interia, which obtained a copy of Duda’s letter, the president writes: “The Polish government should guarantee [Netanyahu’s] unimpeded stay on our national territory in these absolutely exceptional circumstances.”
Netanyahu has not publicly expressed his wish to attend the commemoration, nor has he been invited by the organiser, the Auschwitz Museum, which told the Polish media that it had sent invitations only to Holocaust survivors.
In comments to journalists on Thursday, Tusk accused Duda for making a “political demonstration” by sending a letter to the government, even though Netanyahu had not expressed a wish to go to Poland to attend the event.
Adolf Hitler’s Nazis systematically murdered around one million people, most of them Jews, at Auschwitz, which is often described as the largest mass murder site in history.
Netanyahu will not be arrested if he attends Auschwitz memorial event, says Polish PM Tusk
