Polish president to sign controversial Holocaust bill into law

The Polish president has said he will sign into law a controversial proposal to outlaw blaming Poland for crimes committed during the Holocaust.

However, in an unusual move, Andrzej Duda also said he will ask the country’s constitutional court to evaluate the bill and suggest possible amendments.

The measure, passed by Polish MPs, will impose prison terms of up to three years for statements blaming Poles as a nation for crimes committed by Nazi Germany during the Second World War.

The move has caused a diplomatic crisis with Israel, which fears it will enable Poland to whitewash the role of Poles who killed or denounced Jews to Germans during the German occupation of Poland.

The United States also strongly opposes the legislation, saying it could hurt Poland’s strategic relations with Israel and the US.