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Israel's Netanyahu to skip Auschwitz liberation anniversary event: Polish daily

20.12.2024 11:45
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not attend next month's commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi German Auschwitz death camp, fearing detention in Poland, a Polish newspaper reported on Friday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Photo: Avi Ohayon / Government Press Office of Israel, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu on November 21, accusing him of war crimes during the conflict in Gaza, the Rzeczpospolita newspaper said.

Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Władysław Teofil Bartoszewski, who is overseeing the event's organization, told the daily that Poland must abide by decisions made by the ICC.

Earlier this month, another Polish deputy foreign minister, Andrzej Szejna, said in an interview that Poland is legally obligated to cooperate with the ICC in executing arrest warrants for individuals accused of war crimes, including Netanyahu.

Szejna added that Netanyahu "knows what to expect" and is unlikely to visit any ICC member states where the warrant could be enforced.

Rzeczpospolita reported on Friday that Israel is expected to be represented at the commemoration by its foreign minister.

Germany will be represented by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier rather than Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Hungary by President Tamas Sulyok instead of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, according to the report.

The United States is likely to send Vice President J.D. Vance or Secretary of State Marco Rubio as part of President Donald Trump’s new administration, the newspaper said.

The list of dignitaries expected to attend the January 27 event at the former Nazi German death camp in southern Poland includes Britain’s King Charles, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia.

More than 1.1 million people, mostly European Jews, as well as Poles, Roma, Soviet prisoners of war, and others of various nationalities, were killed by the Nazis at Auschwitz.

The camp was liberated by the Soviet Army on January 27, 1945, with only 7,000 prisoners remaining.

(mk/gs)