Netanyahu skips Auschwitz event over ICC arrest fear

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will likely not travel to Poland to attend next month’s event marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp, fearing arrest under a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita reported on Friday.

On Nov. 21, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

According to the report, Israeli authorities did not even request the prime minister’s attendance in the ceremony, and Poland’s Deputy Foreign Minister Wladysław Bartoszewski has reiterated the country’s commitment to respecting the decisions of the ICC.

The event, which will be attended by numerous heads of state, could see Israeli representation by Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, the paper said.

The main commemoration is scheduled to take place on Jan. 27, 2025, at the camp, which was established by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland during World War II.

The camp was liberated by Soviet forces on the same date in 1945, which has since been observed as International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Auschwitz, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was converted into the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in 1947, serving as a stark reminder of the atrocities committed during the Holocaust.

Israel has killed more than 45,000 people, mostly women and children, in Gaza since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on Gaza.