Czech president defends ammunition initiative, criticizes Israeli settlement expansion

Czech President Petr Pavel has strongly defended the continuation of the Czech-led ammunition initiative in support of Ukraine, warning it would be “very dangerous and unfortunate” for the country to withdraw from the multi-national project. Any attempt to limit or cancel the initiative, he said, would damage the country’s credibility among allies and hurt Ukraine. Pavel made the remarks to Czech reporters in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. The leading opposition party, ANO, has pledged to abolish the program if it wins the parliamentary elections in October.

Commenting on the situation in the Middle East, Pavel said the expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank runs directly counter to what should be the solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, namely, some form of Palestinian statehood. He was responding to statements by Israeli politicians on Sunday announcing further settlement growth, which is considered illegal under international law.