Poland Threatens To Arrest Netanyahu For Attending Holocaust Memorial Event At Auschwitz

A Polish minister said the country would comply with the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he attended a Holocaust Memorial Event at Auschwitz.

Secretary of State Władysław Bartoszewski, who is overseeing the event commemorating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the death camp by Allied forces, confirmed this information to Rzeczpospolita, a Polish news outlet. (RELATED: Alan Dershowitz Announces Assembly Of ‘Legal Dream Team’ To Defend Israel At ICC After Netanyahu Indictment)

Anonymous Polish diplomats told the outlet that they could not be seen to impose a double standard on the value of ICC arrest warrants. “We hope that Vladimir Putin will finally appear before the ICC. That is why we must abide by the Tribunal’s decisions,” they said.

Israeli officials did not contact the Polish government about whether Netanyahu could attend the event, according to the outlet. Yitzhak Herzog, the President of Israel, will likely also not be at the ceremony. Israel may only be represented at the event by Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar despite Jews having been the majority of the victims at Auschwitz.

The ICC issued arrest warrants against Netanyahu and his then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant back on Nov. 21. The two were alleged to be responsible for “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.” These allegations were in regard to the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli leaders have rejected these allegations. The country also disputes the jurisdiction of the court over its own citizens, the New York Sun reported. Israel is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, which established the ICC. However, Palestine is a member of the organization. The international court argued that the Gaza Strip, where Israeli forces are fighting a war against Hamas, is part of Palestine and therefore under their jurisdiction.

.⁦@NewYorkSun⁩ my Friday column: even before Bibi said he’d attend the 80th anniversary of Auschwitz liberation, Poland leaps to claim he’d be arrested if comes to commemorate the killing of 1 million Jews at the death camp https://t.co/FEpXmwQxhx

— Benny Avni (@bennyavni) December 20, 2024

Alan Dershowitz, a renowned attorney, observed that the ICC’s warrants against Israel could create precedent used against the United States. “Remember, the United States refused to sign the treaty, the Rome Treaty, that established the International Criminal Court. Israel refused to sign the treaty. Where does an international court get the power, any power at all, over people who didn’t sign on to a treaty? It’s unthinkable,” he said.

Poland has been a member of NATO since 1999, according to the international organization’s website.