Czech Republic blocks joint EU statement urging 'immediate ceasefire' in Lebanon
The Czech Republic has blocked a joint European Union statement that called for an "immediate ceasefire" between Israel and Hezbollah and condemned the number of civilians killed in Lebanon, preventing the bloc from releasing a unified response to the latest developments in the Middle East.The Czech Republic, together with Hungary and Austria, are considered Europe's staunchest supporters of Israel and have in recent months pushed to water down collective action that they deemed overtly critical to Israel.
"(We) could support the text with two proposals for modifications that were put forward, but other member states could not take them on board," a Czech spokesperson said.
"Firstly, we advocated to add into the text the necessity of Hezbollah to withdraw from the Israeli border. Secondly, the text was too restrictive when it comes to the right of Israel to defend itself."
Czechia blocks EU statement urging 'immediate ceasefire' in Lebanon
The EU fears that "any further military intervention would dramatically aggravate the situation" in the Middle East, Josep Borrell has said. #EuropeNews
www.euronews.com