WARSAW, December 2 (RIA Novosti) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit Prague next week to thank the Czech leadership for its vote in the UN General Assembly against upgrading the Palestinian Authority's status to "non-member observer state," Czech news agency CTK said on Sunday.
“I spoke on the phone with Mr. Netanyahu who thanked the Czech leadership for its consistent position on the Middle East peace process and for our vote in the UN,” CTK quoted Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas as saying.
Netanyahu is expected to visit Prague on Wednesday.
The General Assembly approved the Palestinian non-member statehood measure on November 29 by a vote of 138 to nine with 41 abstentions.
The Czech Republic was the only European state to vote against.
Prior to Thursday’s vote, the Palestinian Authority took part in the UN as a "non-member observer entity."
Israel has insisted the measure will be counterproductive and that the Palestinian Authority can only achieve statehood through negotiations with Israel.
Aside from the Czech Republic and Israel, the other “no” votes were cast by the US, Canada, Panama, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau and Marshall Islands.
