Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Wladyslaw Bartoszewski said that if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu comes to Poland, he will be arrested in accordance with the country’s commitment to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Bartoszewski’s comments came in a Friday conversation with the Polish economic and legal newspaper Rzeczpospolita regarding the preparations for the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
The anniversary is set to take place on January 27 of next year.
Netanyahu was charged in November, along with former defense minister Yoav Gallant, for a series of crimes by the ICC. States that signed the Rome Statute are legally required to comply with ICC arrest warrants.
The anniversary is typically a major state event. However, Israeli officials declined to confirm whether Netanyahu would be permitted at the event, and Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s participation also seems unlikely.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar will be the only representative at the anniversary.
Polish sources told Rzeczpospolita that Poland was enforcing the warrants due to its wish to see Russian President Vladimir Putin stand before the court. The court issued a warrant for Putin in 2022 over the kidnapping of Ukrainian children from occupied Ukraine.
Complying with the ICC arrest warrants
All 27 European Union states belong to the Rome Statute and are legally required to comply with the arrest warrants. So far, only Hungarian President Viktor Orban has said that Netanyahu would not be arrested if he came to Hungary, going so far as to invite Netanyahu to visit the country.
Multiple EU states initially said they would arrest Netanyahu if he arrived in their countries. However, several have now revered this either partially or completely.
France initially said it would fully comply with the arrest warrants, but following negotiations for a ceasefire in Lebanon, Frace then said that Netanyahu would be protected by diplomatic immunity.
Other EU states have confirmed they would arrest Netanyahu regardless of diplomatic immunity, including Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Lithuania, and Slovenia.
Jesus Christ is King
Comments are closed.