President Shimon Peres cautioned Europeans against closing their eyes to the common terrorist threat faced by Israel and the rest of the world. The Czech leader wants Hamas rocket fire on Israeli towns to end, for Gaza's sake.
Speaking at the conclusion of a two-day state visit to the Czech Republic on Tuesday, Peres said, "It would be a mistake for the European Union to give Israel the cold shoulder on the upgrading of relations because of our war on terror. Israel stands on the front lines of the war on terror. It is a war that we are fighting not only for our own people but for the whole world. Today terror is in Israel, and tomorrow terror will be in Europe."
In the current international situation, Israel "cannot sit idly by in light of the strengthening of Iran's nuclear program and the establishment of an axis of terror, headed by Iran, with its branches, Hizbullah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza," the President added.
In his final meeting in the Czech Republic, Peres held a wide-ranging discussion with Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek. The two discussed the upgrading of Israel's status with regard to the European Union, the political and security situation in the Gaza Strip, the Iranian nuclear threat, and the advancement of the peace process in the Middle East. They also discussed internal politics in Israel and the Czech Republic, according to spokesmen for the President.
"The Czech Republic will continue to adopt a stance of supportive friendship with Israel," Prime Minister Topolanek responded to President Peres. "On my visit to Israel with European leaders at the end of the fighting in the Gaza Strip, we brought a strong and resolute stance against Hamas and against terror, and I intend to continue to hold this line, especially because the Czech Republic now holds the rotating Presidency of the European Union."
Touching on the incoming Israeli administration, Topolanek said, "I believe and hope that the new government that [Binyamin] Netanyahu is establishing in Israel will create a positive framework for continuing the negotiations with the Palestinians, and I hope that it will have a good chance of advancing the peace process, despite its image."
Topolanek said that his government views "with great severity" the Hamas regime's rocket fire on Israeli towns, "because of our hopes and wishes to see Gaza a positive and quiet place.... We need to see how it will be possible to turn Gaza into a model for a better future, into a place of prosperity and growth."
Topolanek told President Peres that he would be happy to come visit Israel once again in April.