Poland indicated to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he will not be arrested if he attends the 80th anniversary commemoration celebrating the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
Any representative of the Israeli leadership who wants to participate on January 27 can feel safe and will not be arrested, said Prime Minister Donald Tusk, after the cabinet agreed on the position.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former defense minister Yoav Gallant late last year, for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.
However, Netanyahu said a few weeks ago that he did not intend to attend the commemoration. Israel is expected to be represented by the Minister of Education, according to Tusk.
A spokesman for the Polish Foreign Ministry also said that there was no indication that Netanyahu wanted to attend the commemoration.
The memorial said delegations from 10 countries have confirmed their presence.
The Nazis killed more than 1 million people at Auschwitz, the German death camp. They killed about 6 million Jews across Europe during the Shoah, or Holocaust.
The court's warrant provoked strong international criticism as the first international arrest warrant aimed at a Western head of government.
Canada, Italy and the Netherlands – the court's host country – immediately said they would fulfill their obligations, which would mean arresting Netanyahu during any visit.
Others were more conservative, such as France which said it would respect the law while also questioning whether Netanyahu could have immunity.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was unconvinced and openly invited Netanyahu, saying he would waive the warrant.
Before the decision of the Polish cabinet, President Andrzej Duda appealed in writing to the Tusk government to protect Netanyahu from arrest if he was present.
Tusk expressed clear concern about Duda's campaign. Duda, from the largest opposition party PiS, has often blocked the government in the past.
Tusk said that Duda was aware that the government was working on a resolution to protect Israeli representatives at the memorial. “There are issues that should be handled with discretion, especially when they are so weighty and complicated,” Tusk said.
The Prime Minister of Poland confirmed that his government generally recognizes the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.
“This decision is related to the celebration of the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. For us, it is very important that Poland does not become one of the countries that openly and openly wants to oppose – the closure of international courts,” he said.
