The evacuation of Poles from Israel and the Middle East is provisionally set for Monday or Tuesday, Radio Zet has learned. Private companies have been hired for the operation, and each Polish citizen will be obliged to cover the cost of their journey individually. “In Tusk’s state you even have to pay to flee a war,” commented former prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki.
According to Radio Zet, “the evacuation of Poles from Israel is to begin tomorrow or Tuesday. Our embassy and consulate in Tel Aviv are handling the transport arrangements. The Polish mission has a list of more than 200 people who are in Israel and have registered in the Odyseusz system.”
What follows is astonishing. The embassy has hired a private firm that will take Poles by coach to Jordan or Egypt, from where they are to fly on to Europe. If they need to wait longer for a flight, additional overnight stays will be required.
“In an SMS, the mission states that each person must cover the travel costs individually,” the report says.
The first comments are scathing toward the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“The bill for rescue. In Tusk’s state you even have to pay to flee a war,” writes the head of the European Conservatives and Reformists, Mateusz Morawiecki.
“An abdication of the state and a washing of hands of any responsibility—sort it out yourselves,” posts Radosław Fogiel on X.
“What a disgrace (if it’s true)… In an absolutely critical situation—with the threat of warfare—the government is charging FEES for helping its citizens!” adds former deputy foreign minister Paweł Jabłoński.
The politician also recalled a similarly desperate situation in 2023, when Poles were evacuated after the Hamas attack. “Within three days we evacuated about 1,000 people then,” Jabłoński notes.