Foreign Min. Jan Lipavský stressed on Czech TV on Fri. that it's not the Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu that the Czech government supports, but the State of Israel. The CR defends certain principles and maintains a strategic relationship, he said, but that doesn't mean that it automatically agrees with the individual steps of a given Israeli government. In answer to a question yesterday about the growing international criticism of Netanyahu, PM Petr Fiala told Czech Radio that the position of the Czech government isn't changing in principle but that the CR is certainly increasing its calls on its Israeli friends to take the humanitarian situation in Gaza into account. Lipavský and Fiala continue to adhere to the tenet of who the victim is and who the offender is, even as others are starting to question whether the roles aren't now being rearranged. By taking this principled approach, the Czech government and the people it represents are sharing in the fate of the State of Israel, for better or for worse.