Israeli Ambassador to Poland Yakov Liwne should not be expelled – said KO Senator Grzegorz Schetyna, commenting on the PiS president’s statement that this should happen. According to the former PO chairman, we must now rebuild relations with Israel.
Seven volunteers from the humanitarian organization World Central Kitchen, including a Pole, died in the Gaza Strip; the organization reported on Tuesday that they had been shot at by the Israeli army. The incident occurred while workers were delivering food aid that had arrived in the Gaza Strip by ship from Cyprus a few hours earlier.
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Scandalous submission from the ambassador
After the event, Israeli Ambassador Yakov Liwne published a controversial post on he added that the deputy chairman of the Sejm and the leader of the Confederation, Krzysztof Bosak, claims that Israel is committing “war crimes” and terrorizing humanitarian organizations to starve Palestinians.
He also emphasized that Bosak “has not yet agreed to condemn the Hamas massacre on October 7” and that “his fellow party member, a right-wing extremist, extinguished the Hanukkah menorah with a fire extinguisher.”
Conclusion: Anti-Semites will always remain anti-Semites, and Israel will remain a democratic Jewish state fighting for its right to exist
Liwne said.
Schetyna, who was asked about Liwny’s accession on Thursday in the Third Program of Polish Radio, admitted that relations with Israel have not been easy for a long time. He reminded us that we have not had an ambassador in Israel for almost three years.
It seemed that the time after the elections on October 15 would be an opportunity to rebuild Polish-Israeli relations, but what happened and the ambassador’s statement did not help matters.
– he assessed.
Schetyna disagrees with the PiS president
However, he strongly disagreed with PiS President Jarosław Kaczyński, who stated during Thursday’s conference that the ambassador should be expelled from Poland. When asked if Liwne should be expelled, Schetyna replied: “Of course not.”
This is all Kaczyński, who is detached from reality
– added.
At the same time, he judged that the ambassador’s statement was unnecessary and did not benefit Polish-Israeli relations.
Today, Israel accepts that it made a mistake. He admits his mistake and takes responsibility for what happened to the volunteers. When I hear the spokesman of the Israeli army (Daniel Hagari) and later the Prime Minister of Israel (Benjamin Netanyahu), I think these are opinions that better understand this difficult reality. You have to be able to call things by their name and I am convinced that will happen
– said Schetyna.
As he emphasized, he hopes that “the Israeli government and the Israeli army will rise to the challenge.”
We need to end this problem, find a solution, accept the apology from the Israeli side, draw up rules for compensation for the family of the Polish victim, and that’s it.
– said the senator. According to him, we now need to rebuild relations with Israel, as well as “a ceasefire, the release of hostages and ensuring that the civilian population does not become victims of this war.”
On Wednesday evening, the Israeli ambassador gave an interview to the Internet channel Zero, in which he explained that a tragic accident had occurred during a night operation and an error that could have occurred under war conditions. He expressed regret over the deaths of volunteers but avoided apologizing.
It was not a war crime. (…) We must make it absolutely clear: the Israeli army does not target humanitarian organizations
said the diplomat. He assured that Israeli authorities will thoroughly investigate the causes of the tragedy and then inform the authorities of Poland and other countries whose citizens were killed in the shelling of the convoy. Liwne added that anti-Semitic phenomena are visible in Poland; As an example, he pointed to anti-Semitic inscriptions on the walls of tenement houses in Łódź, which he visited a few months ago.
Deputy Foreign Minister Andrzej Szejna announced on Thursday that Liwne had been summoned to the Foreign Ministry on Friday. He will meet the Israeli ambassador in person on September 10. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Paweł Wroński told PAP that the deputy minister will hand over a diplomatic note to the ambassador during the meeting. As the spokesman for the Ministry of Diplomacy noted, he cannot yet say “what the nature of this document will be” because it is still in preparation.
“Today, Israel accepts that it made a mistake,” said the former chairman of the Civic Platform. And that’s enough for him?! Should a country that wants to be important in the world, according to Grzegorz Schetyna, give up such an important issue? Apparently the PO politician is in favor of pursuing foreign policy on one’s knees.
gah/PAP
Source: wPolityce
Emma Matthew is a political analyst for “Social Bites”. With a keen understanding of the inner workings of government and a passion for politics, she provides insightful and informative coverage of the latest political developments.