Czech President Milos Zeman and Netanyahu
Czech President Milos Zeman and NetanyahuKobi Gideon/GPO

The Czech Republic on Tuesday reopened its honorary consulate in Jerusalem, the CTK news agency reported.

CTK named Dan Propper, a 78-year-old Israeli businessman of Czech origin, as the new honorary consul.

"I see my contribution as being especially focused on economic relations because I have links to the local entrepreneurial community," Propper told the news agency, as quoted by AFP.

Opened in the early 1990s, the Czech honorary consulate in Jerusalem was closed in 2016 due to the death of the honorary consul.

The move comes after President Milos Zeman voiced his wish to move the Czech embassy to the city from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The Czech Republic recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in December, following U.S. President Donald Trump's recognition of the city as Israel's capital.

The Czech Foreign Ministry vowed in April that the decision to reopen the honorary consulate had "no influence on the final agreement on Jerusalem", adding that Prague "fully respects the common position of the European Union that considers Jerusalem as the future capital of both states, that is to say, the State of Israel and the future state of Palestine."

The Czech Embassy (of Czechoslovakia then the Czech Republic) has been in Tel Aviv since 1949, except during the interruption of diplomatic relations under the former communist regime in Prague between 1967 and 1990.

Any decision to move the embassy would first need to be approved by the Czech government.

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis has ruled out Zeman’s suggestion that the Czech Republic would follow the United States’ example and move its embassy to Jerusalem, saying Trump’s move “is not good. You can see the reactions.”

Trump’s embassy move and his recognition of Jerusalem have angered the Palestinian Authority which now refuses to consider the Trump administration an honest broker for negotiations with Israel.

The PA recalled its envoys to Romania, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Austria after their ambassadors attended an Israeli reception marking the U.S. embassy's relocation to Jerusalem.