The opening of an Israeli embassy in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana - the first permanent representation of the State of Israel in Slovenia - sparked protests on the streets of the city demanding its closure and the severance of diplomatic relations between the two countries, reports the Slovenian editorial office of the regional television channel En 1, quoted by BTA.
The Israeli embassy in Ljubljana was opened yesterday with a special ceremony attended by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and his Slovenian counterpart Tone Kaiser.
During the ceremony, activists from the Slovenian student association “Iskra“ and from the initiative “Movement for Palestinian Rights“ organized a demonstration under the slogan “No to the Genocidal Embassy“, gathering in front of the building housing the new Israeli embassy, and then heading to the hotel where the official ceremony was held. Hundreds of Slovenian citizens, as well as Slovenia's first president Milan Kučan, also joined the protest.
During the demonstration, the protesters demanded the immediate closure of the Israeli embassy, the termination of all diplomatic, economic and educational relations between Israel and Slovenia.
“You can't just kill people everywhere with impunity. Israel is committing apartheid and displacement of people in the occupied territories, as well as genocide in Gaza“, one of the participants in yesterday's demonstration told En 1.
The opening of the Israeli embassy in Ljubljana also reflects a broader change in Slovenia's position towards Israel. The previous Slovenian government, led by Robert Golob, accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, imposed various measures against Israel, and officially recognized a Palestinian state, while the current one, led by Janez Janša, has lifted the measures imposed on Israel and announced that it will no longer condemn the actions of the Israeli authorities.