The Fiala government was a useful geopolitical tool of the Biden administration, esp. with regard to Ukraine, but has lost its way somewhat since Donald Trump was elected. PM Petr Fiala even called earlier this year on France and Great Britain to step up and play a bigger role in global affairs. Yet Fiala's government now finds itself deeper and deeper on the U.S. side of the Israeli-Gaza issue. Both France and the U.K. plan to recognize Palestine as a state in Sept. (unless there's a ceasefire, in Britain's case). "Does Czechia also plan to recognize Palestine as an independent state in Sept.?" asked Jana Peroutková of Czech TV last night (at 37m). "Definitely not," responded Petr Hladík, who heads the Middle East Dept. at the Czech foreign ministry. What else could he say? The CR already has a Palestinian ambassador and embassy in Prague but rarely acknowledges this. The big shift in the CR's Middle East policy will only come once it decides, Trump or no Trump, to recognize that it recognizes Palestine.