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Poland Cancels Visit by Israeli Delegation Amid Holocaust Restitution Row

© AP Photo / Czarek SokolowskiWatch towers and the barbed wire fence of the former Nazi death camp Majdanek outside the city of Lublin in eastern Poland on Wednesday Nov. 9, 2005. Four camp survivors and documentary film makers dug up trinkets and personal items buried by Jews in the spring of 1943 after arriving from the Warsaw ghetto
Watch towers and the barbed wire fence of the former Nazi death camp Majdanek outside the city of Lublin in eastern Poland on Wednesday Nov. 9, 2005. Four camp survivors and documentary film makers dug up trinkets and personal items buried by Jews in the spring of 1943 after arriving from the Warsaw ghetto - Sputnik International
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Polish-Israeli relations have been less than smooth over the years since the two nations share a number of unresolved issues that stem from the Second World War and the post-war era.

The Polish authorities announced on Sunday that they had cancelled a visit by an Israeli delegation after learning that the delegation had added the issue of Holocaust restitution to the agenda.

"Poland decided to cancel the visit of Israeli officials after the Israeli side made last minute changes in the composition of the delegation suggesting that the talks would primarily focus on the issues related to property restitution," the statement said Sunday.

The visit was scheduled for 13 May. The issue of restitution of former Jewish property has been a hot-button issue in relations between Tel Aviv and Warsaw.

READ MORE: Israel Should Apologise to Poland for Anti-Semitism Remark — US Ambassador

Before WWII, Poland was home to 3.3 million Jews, most of whom were killed by the Nazis. The property left behind, was looted by the Germans and then nationalised during the communism era. Some Jewish organisations are making attempts to return the properties.

Speaker of the Knesset Yuli-Yoel Edelstein earlier called on Polish authorities to amend the restitution legislation because it didn't provide any compensation for many Jews who survived Holocaust or their relatives.

Responding to the call, the head of Poland's Law and Justice party Jarosław Kaczyński said that the country didn't have any financial liability related to WWII.

Poland's Foreign Ministry - Sputnik International
Israeli Envoy to Poland Summoned Over Katz's Remarks on Poles' Anti-Semitism
Besides the restitution issue, relations between the two countries were dealt a massive blow after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Poles of collaborating with the Nazis while answering a question on whether he was willing to go along with Poland's whitewashing of history with regard to the Holocaust.

Following the comment, Poland refused to take part in a Visegrad Group (V4) summit in Jerusalem.

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