President Milanović calls Israel a 'murderous regime'

Milanović spoke about the two-state solution as a way to bring lasting peace to the region. 

"Palestine should be recognized, and Croatia should do the same. When that happens will depend on a proposal from the Government, but I will support it in Parliament," said the President after participating in the High-level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, held on Monday at UN headquarters in New York.

"I agreed with what was said there, and we supported the declaration," President Milanović added.

Asked by whether the recognition of Palestine would change anything, especially given that the Israeli Prime Minister has said a Palestinian state will never be created, President Milanović replied: "Israel will continue killing; it is a murderous regime that has decided it can do so as long as it has a protector."

"As for Hamas, it was created by Israel. Just as the Mujahideen were, in a certain sense, created by the US administration, so too did Israel - in order to weaken Fatah, the organization Arafat belonged to and which enjoyed great legitimacy among Arabs and Palestinians - create Hamas, a product of the Israeli secret services," the President added.

For the first time, a large group of UN member states - including many Arab countries - unequivocally condemned the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023 and the Israeli military operations in Gaza, which have resulted in many civilian casualties.