Czech Republic President Miloš Zeman told President Reuven Rivlin on Monday that he does not believe there can be an independent state for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The Czech president said he wants to hear more about the idea of one state for two peoples as a solution to the conflict.
The Czech president landed on Sunday for a four-day visit to Israel. He will speak before the Knesset plenum, and is expected to repeat his promise to move the Czech embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Last April, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said the embassy would stay put because moving it would violate European Union and the United Nations policies.
The Czech government is contemplating a compromise, appointing an honorary consul in Jerusalem, attached to the “Czech House” cultural center in Jerusalem. President Zeman will inaugurate the new center with Prime Minister Netanyahu on Tuesday, on the occasion of Czech National Day.
Zaman noted that he understood that the one-state idea was “provocative,” saying: “In recent decades there has been a debate about two independent states, but I do not see an independent state in the Gaza Strip, because I understand that Hamas is a terrorist organization.”
The Czech president quipped there would be some who would protest the one-state idea, especially journalists.