Croatian President Zoran Milanovic has declined to meet with the Israeli foreign minister, Gideon Saar, during his official visit to Zagreb, over the regime's ongoing genocidal war in Gaza.
In a social media statement posted on Tuesday, Milanovic questioned the decision of Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman, and Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic to meet with Saar.
He also questioned the rationale behind his invitation to Zagreb in the first place, condemning his visit as “unacceptable” while Israel's genocide against the people of Gaza continues.
Milanovic emphasized that meeting with a member of the Israeli regime at a time when it is expelling the entire population of Gaza City “would mean supporting Israel’s policy of violence, ethnic cleansing, and war crimes.”
He also criticized Croatia's government for supporting Israeli officials instead of taking steps to recognize the State of Palestine.
Milanovic further noted that comparing Croatia's war in the 1990s with Israel's attacks on Gaza is “a huge mistake,” because Croatia defended itself during that time, while Israel “is brutally attacking Gaza and killing tens of thousands of people."
Members of the opposition Mozemo! (We Can!) party, including MPs Sandra Bencic and Marin Zivkovic, also voiced their condemnation of the visit by the Israeli minister.
“With today’s act, Andrej Plenkovic has aligned his government with that of Benjamin Netanyahu, providing an alibi for the deliberate starvation of civilians and children in Gaza. The Croatian people will never support such actions,” Bencic said.
Saar’s visit to the Croatian capital was met with protests ahead of his meeting with the country's prime minister over Israel's genocidal attacks on Gaza.
Israel unleashed its brutal Gaza onslaught on October 7, 2023, after the Palestinian resistance Hamas carried out its historic operation against the occupying entity in retaliation for the regime’s intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.
The Israeli regime's "security cabinet" voted on August 8 for an illegal plan to occupy Gaza City and launch a ground assault there.
In recent weeks, Israeli air and ground attacks on Gaza City have been intensifying as the regime has warned all residents of Gaza City to leave immediately in anticipation of a huge ground offensive.
Over the past nearly two years, Israel has killed at least 64,500 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured over 163,000 others across Gaza.
Source:Websites
