Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has guaranteed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be able to attend the 80th-anniversary commemoration of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp’s liberation without the threat of arrest, despite an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for alleged war crimes in Gaza.
Tusk confirmed on Thursday: “I confirm, whether it is the prime minister, the president, or the minister — as it is currently declared — of education of Israel, whoever will come to Oświęcim for the celebrations in Auschwitz will be assured of safety and will not be detained.”
A resolution issued by Tusk’s office on Thursday emphasized: “The Polish government treats the safe participation of the leaders of Israel in the commemorations on January 27, 2025, as part of paying tribute to the Jewish nation, millions of whose daughters and sons became victims of the Holocaust carried out by the Third Reich.”
These reassurances follow a request from Poland’s President Andrzej Duda, who is from the opposition Law and Justice party, urging the government to allow Netanyahu to attend the event. Duda wrote to Tusk’s administration requesting that Netanyahu be allowed to attend the commemoration without the risk of arrest.
Netanyahu is currently the subject of an ICC warrant issued in November 2023 over alleged war crimes during Israel’s ongoing military operation in Gaza, which began in October 2023 in response to Hamas’ attack on Israel. This means Netanyahu could potentially be arrested in any of the 120 countries that are part of the ICC, though some nations, including France and Hungary, have pledged not to act on the warrant.
Polish media outlet Interia reported that Duda’s letter emphasized that “the government of Poland should guarantee [Netanyahu] an undisturbed stay on the territory of our country in these absolutely exceptional circumstances.”
Although Netanyahu has not publicly expressed an interest in attending the commemoration, nor was he invited by the Auschwitz Museum, which extended invitations only to Holocaust survivors, Tusk accused Duda of turning the matter into a “political demonstration” by sending the letter, especially as Netanyahu had not indicated any intention to travel to Poland for the event.
