On a two-day visit to Israel, Czech President Petr Pavel assured the country’s top officials of Czechia’s continued support in the war against Hamas. At the same time, he expressed concern for the fate of civilians on both sides of the conflict.
During talks with the country’s top officials on Monday, President Pavel said Czechia fully respects Israel’s right to defend itself against terrorism and protect its citizens, stressing that amid growing antisemitism in the world, it is important to keep in mind who started the bloodshed and who is the victim.
“It is fair to remind, not only ourselves, but the whole world who was the victim on October 7th, how it all started and not to get distracted by false narratives.”
President Pavel said that Hamas is acting like a terrorist organisation with no concern for the fate of Palestinians, which it is using as human shields, and it should therefore not be considered as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. With this in mind, he said, Czechia fully supports Israel’s war against Hamas and is ready to contribute to the process of finding a peaceful solution in the Middle East once Hamas is defeated.
At the same time, the Czech president expressed concern for the fate of civilians and hostages on both sides of the conflict.
“We are concerned about the civilian casualties, because civilians on both sides have the same right to be protected.”
He welcomed the fact that Israel has increased the humanitarian aid delivered to the Palestinian population from 100 to 250 trucks a day and announced that Czechia has allocated CZK 5 million in humanitarian aid for Palestinian civilians through the World Food Program and CZK 5 million for Israeli health organizations.
President Herzog thanked Pavel for his support and also welcomed the joint statement by Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, opposing any attempt to politicize the International Court of Justice in The Hague which is now hearing a complaint from South Africa alleging that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
