Sikorski: Poland does not recognise the occupied West Bank territories as part of Israel
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said Warsaw regards Israel as the occupying power in the West Bank and Gaza, not as the sovereign over those territories. He spoke after an attack by Israeli settlers on a diplomatic convoy carrying Polish diplomats.
Diplomatic convoy attacked
Sikorski discussed the attack on the convoy by phone with his Israeli counterpart, Gideon Saar, according to Onet. The Polish foreign ministry said on X that the call focused on the incident, and Sikorski expressed the expectation that illegal settlers stop terrorising civilians in the West Bank, Onet reported.
Arrests and Polish demands
Israeli police arrested 10 people suspected of involvement in attacks on a convoy carrying diplomats from several countries, including Poland, and on an American journalist in the West Bank, RMF24 reported, citing AFP (Sikorski: Nie uznajemy tych terytoriów za część Izraela – RMF24). France, Belgium and Poland had called for the perpetrators to be punished, RMF24 said. Polish foreign ministry spokesman Maciej Wewiór said Warsaw consistently opposes violence by Israeli settlers and expects Israel to take effective steps to prevent similar incidents, according to RMF24.
Legal position
Asked by PAP whether the arrests were a sufficient response from Israel, Sikorski said Israel is responsible for security in Gaza and the West Bank, and that Poland recognises Israel as the occupying authority there, which carries specific obligations under international law, RMF24 reported. He added that Poland does not regard those territories as part of Israel and requires that journalists and diplomats be physically safe, RMF24 quoted him as saying.
Sources
- #RadosławSikorski
- #WestBank
- #Israel
- #Poland
- #DiplomaticConvoy
- #IsraeliSettlers
- #GideonSaar
- #MaciejWewiór