Czech President criticizes Israel over Gaza, Czech Govt Human Rights Commissioner says Netanyahu is perpetrating crimes against humanity
The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is becoming unsustainable and requires resolution urgently. That statement was made by Czech President Petr Pavel on a visit to Brussels.
Pavel stressed the necessity of clearly differentiating general support for the state of Israel from support for the specific steps of the Government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In his view, the Czech Republic should know how to make it clear that it disagrees with such actions by the Israeli Government which violated international law and basic humanitarian principles.
“I think looking for tricks won’t help us. We should absolutely clearly state that humanitarian considerations are important to us irrespective of who is involved,” the president said.
Pavel reminded the public that the aim should be a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, as that is the only way to ensure permanent peace in the region. His remarks are coming at a time when several western countries, for instance, Canada, Britain, and France, are increasing their pressure on Israel and demanding not just an increase to the humanitarian aid, but also a halt to military operations.
The Czech Republic has not yet joined those calls. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský responded to Pavel’s words by saying that while the Czech Republic supports humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza, it is necessary to limit it so the aid does not get into the hands of the Hamas movement.
“This is about how we want to interpret this statement. Our support to Israel is strong, but naturally we are always considering the humanitarian situation in Gaza,” Lipavský responded, recalling that the Czech Republic provided humanitarian aid to Gaza last year worth more than CZK 20 million [EUR 800,000] and that intensive discussions on what to do next are currently happening at EU level.
Since the beginning of March, the Government of Israel has made it practically impossible to transfer any supplies into the Gaza Strip, including food and medicine, so as to pressure Hamas to release the remaining hostages it holds. Agencies of the United Nations and international organizations, however, have repeatedly warned of the threat of a humanitarian catastrophe, famine, and the collapse of health care as a consequence.
Although Israel recently renewed the partial transfer of aid, its new ground operations in the north and south of Gaza sparked another wave of international criticism.
Czech Govt Human Rights Commissioner: Netanyahu is perpetrating crimes against humanity, civilians must be protected
Czech Government Human Rights Commissioner Klára Šimáčková Laurenčíková has also issued a statement describing the current state of affairs as alarming and calling for international pressure to protect civilians to be fundamentally intensified. “It is necessary, in my opinion, to maximize efforts necessary to the immediate provision of humanitarian aid to the affected areas. Food and medicines must be provided in particular and direct medical assistance must be arranged,” she told the Czech News Agency (ČTK).
Šimáčková Laurenčíková stressed the protection of children, the elderly, the ill, and people living with disabilities first and foremost. On Saturday she posted to X that the approach by the Israeli Government to civilians in Gaza is absolutely unacceptable and immoral.
“[Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu is perpetrating crimes against humanity. Top European and global diplomats must accelerate their efforts to stop the genocide that is being perpetrated against people in the Gaza Strip,” she wrote.
EU pressures Israel and considers revising its association agreement
The EU is also taking specific diplomatic steps on this issue. Kaja Kallas, head of EU diplomacy, announced the EUR will begin revising its association agreement with Israel, which is based on respect for human rights and democratic values.
According to Kallas, she was led to make that decision by the “catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza”. The motion to revise the agreement was supported by 17 of the 29 Member States.
Although the Czech Republic is among the countries advocating a more restrained approach, Lipavský has recognized that pressure to reassess relations with Israel is growing. The association agreement between the EU and Israel from the year 2000 establishes mutual political dialogue and economic relations.
Suspending the agreement was already proposed by some countries earlier, for instance, by Ireland and Spain. The EU is also considering targeted sanctions on violent Israeli settlers whose steps destabilize the situation in the occupied territories.
Israel rejects these accusations and reproaches from the international scene. The spokesperson for the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Oren Marmorstein, called the EU criticism the “total incomprehension of a complex reality”.
According to Marmorstein, similar calls just strengthen Hamas and weaken Israel’s position in defending itself against terrorist attacks.
