Minister Lipavský: Conditions not in place to relocate Czech Embassy to Jerusalem

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský has said the time is not right to move the Czech Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Responding to calls from some politicians and members of the public for the embassy to be relocated as a symbolic gesture of support for Israel, Mr. Lipavsaký said the basic conditions for such a move are not in place. He said the embassy’s relocation would be in violation of international law and UN Security Council resolutions, and such a move would not be in line with the unified position of the European Union. He also added that, in the present circumstances, he does not consider it prudent for Czechia to take a unilateral step on the issue of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on Monday that he personally would be in favour of moving the Czech Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Mr. FiaIa wrote on the X platform that in the context of the latest developments such a move was desirable and he planned to discuss the idea with the other members of the ruling coalition.

The Czech prime minister said he was disappointed with the European Union’s decision not to freeze payments of development aid to Palestinians, but merely to review the payments to ensure they are not being misused.