Czechia's house speakers travel to Israel in show of moral support

Czech Senate Speaker Miloš Vystrčil and Chamber of Deputies Speaker Markéta Pekarová Adamová arrived in Israel this morning to express political and moral support for Israel in its current war with Hamas, as announced by Pekarová Adamová's spokesman Martin Churavý.

This one-day visit includes a tour of locations in the south of Israel where Hamas attacked on Oct. 7. The Czech parliamentary speakers will meet with Knesset (the unicameral legislature of Israel) Speaker Amir Ohana and the chairman of the Israeli Parliamentary Foreign and Defense Committee Yuli Edelstein. They are scheduled to visit wounded soldiers in a local hospital and meet with the staff at the Czech embassy in Tel Aviv.

Pekarová Adamová stated in a press release: "Our country stands firmly behind the unequivocal condemnation of the brutal attacks by Hamas terrorists against the Israeli civilian population. We fully support Israel's right to protect its people and to defend itself to prevent Hamas from continuing its unjustifiable violence and spreading terror."

Vystrčil also gave a message of support, saying: "In Israel, we want to symbolically stand by the side of the people from whom everything was taken away by the cruel Hamas terrorist attacks. We will also ask how to end the war as soon as possible."

He acknowledged the significant suffering of innocent civilians in the conflict and expressed hope for achieving peace, even though the goal seems challenging at this moment. According to the Israeli Health Ministry's figures released on Sunday, more than 15,500 people, mostly civilians, have died in the Gaza Strip due to Israeli bombing and ground operations.

Various Western politicians, including U.S. President Joe Biden, have visited Israel since the start of the nearly two-month war. Czech Foreign Ministry Jan Lipavský was the first foreign statesman to visit Israel after the attack on Oct. 10, followed by Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala at the end of October.

Czechia considers itself one of Israel's strongest allies in Europe and has put forward a very strong pro-Israel line since early October. Other senior politicians, such as President Petr Pavel, have also given their full support to Israel.