Public figures say Czech Government is ignoring the fundamental rights of millions of Palestinians, Government says it will not change its unqualified support for Israel
More than 80 public figures have signed an appeal to Czech politicians criticizing the cabinet of Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala (Civic Democratic Party - ODS) over its unreserved support for the current Government of Israel irrespective of the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza. One of the women initiating the appeal for a change in the country's position on the conflict in the Middle East is the former ombudswoman Anna Šabatová, and the signatories include, for example, Father Tomáš Halík and Bishop Václav Malý.
The open letter is addressed to the Czech Government, the Czech President, and the Foreign Affairs Committees of both houses of the Czech Parliament. However, the Government will not be making any adjustments to its attitude of support for Israel.
Speaking at a press conference after the weekly cabinet session, Czech Transportation Minister Martin Kupka (ODS) delivered that message. He claimed the cabinet is not indifferent to the conflict between Hamas and Israel and its human toll, but considers it important to preserve a clear, comprehensible position on the issue.
Israel launched its offensive in the Gaza Strip after Hamas perpetrated a terrorist attack in Israel on 7 October 2023, when armed Palestinians killed up to 1,200 people in the Israeli borderlands and abducted about 250 people as hostages, taking them into the Gaza Strip. Hamas released more than 100 hostages during what has so far been the only cease-fire in the conflict in late November, most of whom were exchanged for Palestinian prisoners, and roughly 135 hostages are still being held in the Gaza Strip, many of whom have died.
In Gaza, according to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry, more than 27,500 Palestinians have died since the start of the Israeli offensive and roughly 67,000 others have been wounded. “Through this open appeal we want to express our disagreement with the reaction of the Czech political representation to this situation and call on the Government to change its position toward the crisis in the Middle East,” said the figures in their statement.
The attack by Hamas against Israeli civilians has been condemned by all of the EU Member States, the signatories say, and they have supported Israel’s legitimate right to self-defense, but they have also expressed dismay over the humanitarian crisis underway. “However, the Czech Government unreservedly supports the current Israeli Government, both in international forums and in Israel, as well as through its communications in the Czech Republic, regardless of the humanitarian disaster,” the signatories said.
The public figures consider the Czech Government’s position to contravene international legal principles in an unacceptable way. In their view, the cabinet is not taking into consideration the acute humanitarian catastrophe and is thereby ignoring the human rights dimension of Czech foreign policy and the Czech Republic’s decades-long international reputation in that regard.
The Czech Republic, according to the public figures, is supporting Ukraine on the basis of international law, but in its relations with Israel is ignoring the fundamental rights of millions of Palestinians. “[The Czech Republic is] thus de facto abandon[ing its] long-standing support for a just solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” they say.
The signatories called on the Fiala Government to join the call of the International Court of Justice for the immediate arrangement of enough humanitarian aid to the conflict victims, to stand up against violence committed against all civilians and against the actions of extremists on both sides, to support the steps taken by the international community for a just settlement between the Israelis and the Palestinians, to arrange the secure coexistence of both nations, and to emphasize a humane approach toward all conflict victims, thereby contributing to reviving the peace process. Other co-authors of the appeal are political scientist Zora Hesová, human rights activist Anna Hradilková and college educator Filip Outrata.
Signatories include the former Czech Deputy Ambassador to Israel Antonín Hradilek, the leader of the Praha 1 Sobě party Pavel Čižinský, and the authors Radka Denemarková and Alena Wagnerová.
Kupka: Nothing will change about the Czech Government’s position toward the conflict in the Middle East
“We do not want, under any circumstances, to relativize our clear rejection of the initial terrorist attack by Hamas upon the civilian population at a music festival,” said Czech Transportation Minister Martin Kupka (ODS). “We are also following how, unlike Hamas, Israel is doing its best, in all its activities, to protect the civilian population and to direct each of its moves at military targets in order to arrange for calm in the entire region.”
“Naturally we are not indifferent to the human toll, but we consider it important that we preserve a clear, comprehensible position that, moreover, is based on the longstanding history of relations between the Czech Republic and Israel,” the minister said.
