The Polish Foreign Ministry denied reports on Thursday that the country had threatened to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should he choose to attend the Jan. 27 ceremony marking 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz.
“We are aware that this fake news is being spread in the U.S. media, as if Polish Secretary of State Władysław T. Bartoszewski had stated that Prime Minister Netanyahu would be arrested upon his arrival in Poland, based on a ruling by the International Criminal Court,” Warsaw’s Foreign Ministry wrote in a statement to JNS on Thursday.
“Such a statement has never been made,” the ministry stated, adding: “Poland is a safe country and any leader visiting Poland is entitled to protection granted by the Ministry of the Interior.”
Earlier on Thursday, Bloomberg reported that Polish President Andrzej Duda had called on his government to shield Netanyahu from arrest.
Duda had asked Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk to guarantee that a possible visit by Netanyahu would remain “unhindered” by the Nov. 21 ICC warrant, according to the report.
In the Jan. 8 missive, that was seen by Bloomberg News, Duda cited the “absolutely exceptional circumstances” of the commemorative event.
Duda, a conservative who has frequently clashed with Tusk’s more liberal coalition, said that he believes Warsaw will be able to “devise an adequate formula” to provide guarantees for Netanyahu and reconcile respect for international law with the significance of the anniversary.
A spokesperson for the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office declined to comment on the Bloomberg report.
Late last month, the PMO claimed that the Jewish state’s longest-serving prime minister had never planned to attend the ceremony marking the liberation of the largest Nazi death camp, where an estimated 960,000 European Jews were murdered between 1940 and Jan. 27, 1945.
“The event was not even in the prime minister’s schedule from the beginning,” a PMO source told JNS on Dec. 22.
The Polish Foreign Ministry confirmed to JNS on Thursday that it had “not received any information so far indicating that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is going to attend the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.”
The ICC issued warrants for the arrest of Netanyahu and former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes. More than 120 countries are signatories to the Rome Statute, the 2002 treaty that established the International Criminal Court, requiring them to act on the tribunal’s warrants.
Multiple member states of the European Union, who are collectively signatories to the ICC, have hinted at the possibility that the Israeli premier could enjoy immunity from arrest if he visits in an official capacity, including Hungary, France and Italy.
