“I confirm that, whether it be the prime minister, the president, or the minister — as is currently declared — of education of Israel, whoever comes to Oswiecim for the celebrations in Auschwitz will be assured of safety and will not be detained,” Tusk said. President Andrzej Duda had called for a special exemption to allow Netanyahu to visit Poland for the Auschwitz memorial service, which will take place eight decades after Allied forces seized the notorious death camp from German troops and liberated the surviving prisoners on January 27, 1945. Duda sent a letter to Tusk urging an exemption for Netanyahu, who has attended the annual event several times before, according to a statement confirmed by the Polish president’s office. Duda emphasized the significance of the 80th Auschwitz memorial service, stating that any representatives from Israel, particularly those in leadership positions, should be able to participate without legal obstacles.
The ICC issued arrest warrants in November for Netanyahu, former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Mohammed Deif for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity linked to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza. Israel’s government vehemently rejected the indictment of its leader as a miscarriage of justice, asserting that it acted within its rights to self-defense during the conflict with Hamas. As a signatory nation to the United Nations treaty establishing the ICC, Poland is obligated to detain any individual with an outstanding warrant issued by the court if they enter its territory.
Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski dismissed speculation about a potential arrest of the Israeli leader, noting that Netanyahu was not expected to visit Europe. The issue arose amid strained relations between Duda, Poland’s conservative nationalist leader, and Tusk’s centrist pro-European administration, which assumed office in December 2023. In Poland, the president holds the highest office and has the authority to veto legislation proposed by the government, led by the prime minister. However, a presidential veto can be overridden by a three-fifths majority vote in parliament.
Auschwitz, constructed by the Nazi regime in occupied Poland, became a potent symbol of the Holocaust atrocities. Over 1.1 million people, primarily Jews, perished through forced labor, starvation, disease, and mass executions in gas chambers at Auschwitz before its liberation. Poland’s Jewish population suffered greatly, with over three million killed during World War II, constituting nearly half of all Holocaust victims. The annual events commemorating the liberation of the death camp aim to remind the world of the horrors witnessed in Europe eighty years ago.
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