President Pavel: Hamas not legitimate representative of the Palestinian people

Hamas acts like a terrorist organization and should not be considered the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, Czech President Petr Pavel said on a visit to Israel. During talks with President Isaac Herzog on Monday, Mr. Pavel said Czechia fully respects Israel’s right to defend itself against terrorism and protect its citizens, stressing that it is important to keep in mind who started the bloodshed and who is the victim.

At the same time, he expressed concern for the fate of civilians and hostages on both sides of the conflict and announced that Czechia has allocated CZK 5 million in humanitarian aid for Palestinian civilians through the World Food Program and CZK 5 million for Israeli health organizations.

The Czech head of state later met for talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with whom he  discussed cooperation in the fields of security, energy, agriculture and innovation. On Tuesday the two sides will sign a memorandum on cooperation in the field of cybersecurity.