In cabinet quarrel, Czech speaker questions two-state paradigm
Politics in the Czech Republic have been roiled in the past few days by debate over how to respond to the possibility that Israel may apply its laws to parts of the West Bank.
The latest chapter in the ongoing political controversy came with an article by Czech Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Radek Vondrácek on Monday calling for “opening up a new perspective” and saying “time is running out and the situation has changed” since two states became the paradigm for the peace process. The emphasis on international law “contributed to the block in the conflict... and did not help resolve the conflict.”
“Everyone wants to live with dignity, in peace, independently, proud and with a future,” he wrote in Právo Daily. “Many are determined to find a way to do so without being captive to old schemes and frustrations from the results.”
Czechs would not have liked if their split with Slovakia was dictated with a third party, Vondrácek added.
Vondrácek concluded that support for Israel should not be based on a two-state solution, and that it is “time to revive the idea of coexistence in one common state.”
The debate in Czech politics began on Saturday, with Foreign Minister Tomáš Petrícek and two of his predecessors publishing an op-ed in Právo Daily slamming annexation plans, with the headline: “What will happened to the Palestinians and Israeli democracy?”
“Our political and civic responsibility...tells us that we cannot approach the planned Israeli annexation of parts of the Palestinian territories in any way other than explicitly critically,” the article states, saying Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank would violate international law.
The Czech Republic has traditionally been one of the friendliest countries to Israel in Europe, and often votes against
EU proposals to condemn Israel, or more recently threaten sanctions over annexation. Contrary to previous reports, the Czech Republic was one of the countries that opposed a recent, critical statement by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell on the matter. A diplomatic source pointed out that the Czech Foreign Ministry did not share Borrell’s statement on social media or release its own statement echoing his.
Petrícek’s article, therefore, sparked significant controversy and pushback.
Later on Saturday, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš expressed his disapproval of the article and the idea that a minister would express an opinion independent of government policy.
“Czech foreign policy is the responsibility of the government as a whole, so it is unacceptable for individual members of the government to issue their own opinion on such a fundamental issue as relations with Israel,” Babiš said.
Czech President Milos Zeman released a statement expressing “strong disagreement” with the article and calling it “a denial of the current foreign policy of the Czech Republic towards the State of Israel.”
An Israeli diplomatic source said the embassy in Prague has received an outpouring of support since Petrícek’s article came out.
Petrícek and Israeli Ambassador to the Czech Republic Daniel Meron met on Tuesday. The former tweeted that they “discussed the further development of our friendly relations” and that Prague wants “to strengthen practical cooperation between the EU and Israel. Both sides can be a great inspiration.”
Meron confirmed the account in a tweet of his own, calling ties between the countries excellent.
Former Czech prime minister Mirek Topolánek and three former foreign ministers published a letter slamming Petrícek’s
“harsh criticism” of Israel.
“It is an insult to criticize a close ally in an article signed by a responsible member of the government,” the letter reads, adding that the article would offend the Americans, as well, since it accuses the Trump plan of being self-serving.
The Trump plan “is a path that should bring the Palestinian Authority to the negotiating table and finally take responsibility for its own state, which it rejected in 1947, 1967, 1978, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2012 and 2015,” they wrote.
The letter also called on Petrícek to take action to move the Czech embassy to
Jerusalem.
“Strategic partnerships are not measured in words, but in actions,” the letter reads.
Zeman has promised to move the country’s embassy to Jerusalem, and in 2018, he opened a “Czech House” in the capital, meant to be a first step towards moving there.