By Mohamed AbdulGhaffar
KUWAIT (AA) – The Czech Ambassador to Kuwait, Martin Dvorak on Monday apologized for publishing the Israeli flag on his official Instagram account as an expression of his solidarity with Israel.
The Czech embassy in Kuwait published the ambassador’s apology on Twitter.
“I am extremely remorseful for placing the Israeli flag on my private profile and, in so doing, inspiring understandable outrage and indignation among many people with regards to the current, deeply dramatic situation in the Gaza Strip,” said the envoy’s post on Twitter.
Dvorak's post of the Israeli flag sparked popular outrage in Kuwait and a social media campaign calling for his expulsion.
“It was extremely insensitive of me towards the feelings of many of my close Kuwaiti and Palestinians,” the statement said.
“It was absolutely not my intention to express my manner of disrespect towards the innocent Palestinian victims and casualties whose loss we are currently witnessing, to my great sorrow,” he said.
The recent tensions that started in East Jerusalem during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan spread to Gaza as a result of Israeli assaults on worshippers in the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.
*Bassel Barakat in Ankara contributed to this report
