Israeli president on official visit to Czechia

Israeli President Isaac Herzog is on an official visit to Czechia. He was received with military honours at Prague Castle by his Czech counterpart Miloš Zeman on Monday morning and is due to hold talks with Prime Minister Petr Fiala and the heads of both houses of Parliament. The talks are expected to cover bilateral cooperation, particularly in the area of defense, business ties and the Czech Presidency of the EU Council.

During the talks, President Miloš Zeman apologized to President Herzog for the position of Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský on the report of the UN Human Rights Council commission on Israel. He said he was sorry that Czechia did not join the countries condemning the report. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced earlier that Czechia had taken a clear stand towards the commission last May, when it voted against its establishment. In the report the commission stated that the main cause of tensions between Israel and Palestine is the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and the behaviour of the Jewish state towards the Palestinians.