Czech Minister of Defence Jana Cernochova has invited to Prague her Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant, against whom the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant in connection with the actions of Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) actions in Gaza.

Czechia is a signatory country of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and Czech police should arrest Gallant if he arrives in the country.

The Czech cabinet is a staunch backer of the far-right cabinet of Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu in its bloody campaign in Gaza but the invitation will put it in a difficult position, highlighting its break with the majority opinion of the international community.

Czech Ministry of Defence spokesperson David Polak confirmed for the online news outlet Aktualne.cz the “invitation for a personal visit of Czechia” for Gallant while Israeli embassy spokesperson Petra Mohylova said that “if the situation permits then such a visit could take place”.

“Israel is a reliable partner and ally of Czechia. Mrs. Minister last talked with the Israeli minister over the phone last Thursday,“ Polak was quoted as saying.

Aktualne.cz also noted that while Prime Minister Petr Fiala's hawkish national security advisor Tomas Pojar ruled out Czechia would abide by the Rome Statute in the case of Israeli officials, the Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan Lipavsky stated that “the position of the Czech government is that we abide by international law”.

Cernochova hails from the neoliberal ODS party just like  Fiala, which is also a more Eurosceptic party than Lipvasky’s pro-EU Pirate Party. 

Fiala also diverged from Czech diplomacy when he maintained the stance of the Czech pro-Kremlin ex-President Milos Zeman and called on the Czech embassy last autumn to be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Fiala also maintains a pro-Ukrainian stance and backs the arrest warrant issued by ICC against Vladimir Putin and other Kremlin officials.   

News of Cernochova’s invitation of Gallant to Czechia came as the United Nations condemned Israel’s “blatant disregard” for international law in the Palestinian territories.

In the latest development, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan called in Pre-Trial Chamber I of the court to issue arrest warrants against Gallant and Netanyahu as well as against Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif. Netanyahu described the effort as a “moral disgrace of the first order,” Times of Israel wrote on September 10.

Over 1,000 Israelis, mostly civilians, were massacred by Hamas in October last year before IDF launched an air and ground offensive in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip which has so far claimed the lives of over 40,000 Palestinians, overwhelmingly civilians, according to figures released by the Hamas-run health authorities.