Poland returns ambassador to Israel, ending diplomatic rift

"We are starting a new chapter in relations with Poland," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Polish and Israeli flags at a march next to Auschwitz in April (photo credit: REUTERS)
Polish and Israeli flags at a march next to Auschwitz in April
(photo credit: REUTERS)

Poland will reinstate its ambassador to Israel, the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday, after relations between the countries deteriorated over Israeli school trips to Holocaust memorial sites in Poland.

Holocaust education trips for Israeli students to Poland had been suspended last year over the fact that armed guards accompanied the students but the trips have recently been restored.

In July, Poland and Israel vowed to improve relations that had deteriorated after Warsaw introduced a law limiting the ability of Jews to recover World War II properties, saying they would mutually restore ambassadors.

"We are starting a new chapter in relations with Poland," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "Restoring the Polish ambassador to Israel and restoring school trips to Poland are important steps in strengthening the relations between the two states."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the restoration saying it symbolized a "positive step forward" in diplomatic relations with Poland.

This is a developing story.