Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said that his country will not relocate its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, saying that his government respects the European Union stance and United Nations resolutions on this issue.
No country in Europe wants to move its embassy at the moment and the Czech Republic will not be the initiator, he continued.
The PM affirmed that Israel is a longstanding ally to the Czech Republic, but it is also an EU member and UN agreements in this regard should be respected.
Last year, Czech President Milos Zeman inaugurated the Czech House in Jerusalem in what was interpreted as a precursor to the relocation of its embassy.
The United States had moved its embassy to Jerusalem in May 2018 despite widespread condemnation by Palestinians, Arabs and the international community.
Guatemala then followed. Honduras and Romania had revealed that they were considering such a move.
The Fatah movement welcomed Prague’s refusal to relocate its embassy in spite of American and Israeli pressure.
Fatah spokesman Jamal Nazzal said that countries’ ability to withstand such pressure and commit to international law reinforces the Palestinian leadership’s insistence on its rights.
