Israel-hosted Visegrad meet nixed amid row with Poland

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to meet individually with the representatives of three Central European states, instead of at an Israel-hosted Visegrad summit, after Poland announced its withdrawal from the event.

Due to Poland’s departure, Netanyahu now intends to hold separate meetings with representatives of the Czech, Hungarian and Slovakian governments, according to Israel’s Foreign Ministry.

A cultural and political alliance of four Central European states (Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia), the Visegrad Group had been planning to hold a summit in Israel this week.

However, Poland announced the cancellation of Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki's planned Feb. 19 visit to Israel after Netanyahu claimed that the Polish people had “collaborated” with the Nazis during the Second World War.