Czech FM: Rushing fence is ‘terrorism,’ Gaza violence not connected to US Embassy move
Czech Republic Foreign Minister Martin Stropnický broke with the tone of the European Union regarding recent incidents in Gaza, saying on Thursday the violence last week had nothing to do with the US Embassy move, and that rushing the security fence should be regarded as a form of terrorism.
Stropnický took issue with the narrative that gained traction in much of the Western media, the EU and in most European capitals that the violence on May 14, which left more than 60 dead, was the result of the US Embassy being moved to Jerusalem that same day.
For instance, a statement issued by the Office of the EU Representative to the West Bank and Gaza after the day of violence, said, “Dozens of Palestinians, including children, have been killed and hundreds injured from Israel fire today, during ongoing mass protests near the Gaza fence against the transfer of the US Embassy to Jerusalem today.”
Stropnický disagreed, saying, “I do not think that there is a causal link between the transfer of the US Embassy... and the events in Gaza.”
The Middle East conflict, he said, has raged for years and the relocation of the embassy was used as a pretense by Hamas to “exacerbate even more intense events that had been organized long before.”
While noting the tragic dimensions of the loss of life, the Czech Foreign Minister said the concern is not only about the victims of the ongoing violence, “but also about its causes, including who
initiates it.”