Aidas Ziliukas. Poland to Arrest Netanyahu if He Comes to Auschwitz 80th Anniversary

"Poland's Deputy Foreign Minister Wladyslaw Bartoszewski told the Rzeczpospolita newspaper that if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu comes to Poland, he will be arrested in accordance with the country's obligations to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

 

Bartoszewski made the comments while speaking to the Polish economic and legal newspaper Rzeczpospolita about preparations for the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, which will be commemorated on January 27 this year.

 

The ICC issued arrest warrants for former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Netanyahu in November, in response to accusations of crimes against humanity and war crimes during the Gaza conflict.

 

The ICC also issued an arrest warrant for the Islamist group Hamas The head of the military wing, Mohammed Deif, was killed in an airstrike in July, Israel says.

 

States that are party to the Rome Statute are legally obligated to execute ICC arrest warrants. All 27 European Union states are party to the Rome Statute and are legally obligated to execute arrest warrants. So far, only Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said that Netanyahu will not be arrested if he visits Hungary.

 

Lithuania has also said it will arrest individuals with ICC arrest warrants if they enter the country.

 

It is currently planned that Education Minister Yoav Kisch will represent Israel at the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz."