Original article (in Montenegrin) was published on 13/1/2025; Author: Marko Vukajlović
At the end of January, the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp is commemorated, with numerous delegations expected to attend, including representatives from Israel (archived: here).
On this occasion, domestic and regional media published the following information: (1, 2, 3) (archived: (1, 2, 3):
“Polish government: Netanyahu will be arrested if he attends the Auschwitz anniversary.”
Media articles (archived: here) claimed that the Polish Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wladyslaw Bartoszewski, speaking on behalf of the Polish government, stated that if Netanyahu were to come to Poland, he would be arrested pursuant to a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
It is worth noting that on November 21, the ICC issued arrest warrants (archived: here) for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant, and the leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, Ibrahim al-Masri (whom Israel claims was killed in July), accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with the war in Gaza.
The Polish Embassy in Podgorica denied these claims to Raskrinkavanje.
“It is not true that Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Wladyslaw Teofil Bartoszewski announced the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he attends the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the German Nazi camp Auschwitz. This is fake news published by Clifford D. May in The Washington Times in the form of a letter (archived: here) addressed to the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Radoslaw Sikorski.”
Deputy Minister Bartoszewski sent an open letter to the editor-in-chief of The Washington Times, correcting the false information. The letter is available on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland at the following links: (1, 2) (archived: 1, 2)
Clifford May’s letter was published (archived: here) in The Washington Times on December 24. In the meantime, an official statement from the Polish government confirmed that Israeli officials would be granted unrestricted access. Media reported (archived: 1, 2)
“The Polish government has announced that it will ‘ensure free and safe access to these commemorations and participation for the highest representatives of the State of Israel.’”
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who signed the document, stated that he received information from the Israeli Embassy indicating that the country would be represented by its Minister of Education.
“Whether it is the Prime Minister, the President, or the Minister of Education, whoever comes to Oswiecim for the ceremony in Auschwitz will be guaranteed safety and will not be detained,” Tusk told reporters.
Given the above, the publications in question are rated as fake news.
The “Fake news” rating is given to an original media report (completely produced by the media that published it) that contains factually incorrect claims or information. Content that is rated as fake news can be reliably determined to have been created and disseminated with the intent to misinform the public, that is, to present a completely false claim as fact.