Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not attend the ceremony commemorating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz Nazi concentration camp due to concerns that the Polish government’s pledge that it will adhere to the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for Netanyahu over possible war crimes in Israel’s war against the Hamas terrorist organization.
The major event is planned for International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27 and is expected to be attended by dozens of leaders and heads of state, including Britain’s King Charles.
The Prime Minister’s office has not commented; however, an article in Rzeczpospolita, a Polish daily newspaper, reported that Israeli authorities have not contacted their Polish counterparts about attending the event. The Polish authorities assumed this was due to Poland’s pledge to adhere to the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant issued in November. Poland’s deputy foreign minister, Wladyslaw Bartoszewski, reiterated Warsaw’s stance on enforcing ICC warrants to the newspaper when asked for comment.
Polish sources told Rzeczpospolita that Warsaw was enforcing the warrants due to its wish to see Russian President Vladimir Putin stand before the court. The court issued a warrant for Putin in 2022 over the kidnapping of Ukrainian children from occupied Ukraine.
The report also said President Isaac Herzog does not plan to attend.
Education Minister Yoav Kisch, who has no pending ICC warrant, is expected to represent Israel at the ceremony.
Poland is obligated to execute the warrants as a signatory to the Rome Statute, the ICC’s founding treaty. Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Lithuania, and Slovenia stated they would comply with the arrest warrant should Netanyahu enter their countries. France initially said it would fully comply with the arrest warrants but later reneged, declaring that Netanyahu has diplomatic immunity. Italy has said it is not feasible to arrest Netanyahu as long as he remains head of Israel’s government.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said that Netanyahu would not be arrested if he came to visit, going so far as to invite Netanyahu to his country.
The ICC also issued a warrant for Hamas military chief Muhammad Deif, whom Israel says has been killed.
Israel filed two appeals against the ICC’s ruling last Friday, arguing that there were procedural deficiencies and that the ICC does not have jurisdiction over Israelis.
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