“The European Union, cowards, are doing all they can so a pro-Palestinian terrorist movement can have supremacy over a pro-Israeli movement,” said Czech President Zeman.
Czech President Milos Zeman on Saturday charged European Union (EU) countries with being “cowards” in their response to President Donald Trump’s historic recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
“The European Union, cowards, are doing all they can so a pro-Palestinian terrorist movement can have supremacy over a pro-Israeli movement,” said Zeman, according to AFP
Zeman said Friday he was happy about Trump’s announcement and that he had himself spoken in favor of Prague moving the Czech embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv on a visit four years ago.
Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital on Wednesday in a move that outraged the Palestinians, but which was hailed as historic by Israel.
Most European countries expressed opposition to Trump’s announcement, while the EU’s diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini warned on Thursday that Trump’s move had a “very worrying potential impact” and could take the region “backwards to even darker times than the ones we’re already living in”.
Mogherini added that “the aspirations of both parties must be fulfilled and a way must be found through negotiations to resolve the status of Jerusalem as the future capital of both states.”
The Czech Republic on Wednesday recognized western Jerusalem as the capital of Israel following Trump’s policy changes on the city.
According to a statement published by the Czech Foreign Ministry, the country “currently, before the peace between Israel and Palestine is signed, recognizes Jerusalem to be in fact the capital of Israel in the borders of the demarcation line from 1967.”
Israel has had sovereignty in west Jerusalem since its 1948 War of Independence, and the Jewish state reunified the city after the 1967 Six-Day War.
The Czech Republic added that, “together with other EU member states, following the EU Foreign Affairs Council Conclusions,” it “considers Jerusalem to be the future capital of both states, meaning the State of Israel and the future State of Palestine.”
The Czechs broke ranks with EU members who uphold a policy of not recognizing Jerusalem as the Jewish state’s capital without a final status agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.
Yet the Czech announcment differed from the US policy change in that the Czech Republic conditioned the relocation of its Tel Aviv embassy to Jerusalem upon the results of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, while Trump expressed the unconditional intent to move the American embassy, though not immediately.
The Czech government’s move on western Jerusalem follows the Czech Parliament’s approval of legislation in May that recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
In April, the Russian Foreign Ministry made a similar move to recognize “west Jerusalem” as the Israeli capital.
By: United with Israel Staff and JNS.org
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