EU Ambassador to Israel Emanuele Giaufret will boycott an Israeli event marking 50th anniversary of the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza strip and the end of the Six Day War of June 1967, Israel National News reported Monday.

Israel will hold a state ceremony in Gush Etzion Wednesday marking the 50th anniversary of the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza strip and the end of the Six Day War of June 1967.

Giaufret will not be attending the event, despite having received a formal invitation.

Staff at Giaufret’s office confirmed that the ambassador had indeed been invited to the ceremony, adding that his decision to snub the event was consistent with the views espoused by the EU’s member states.

Meantime, according to Israel's Maariv newspaper, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee in the Knesset Avi Dichter is afraid of Russian interference in the Palestinian area through supporting the reconciliation and forming an unified Palestinian government.

Israel does not want Russia to be a supporting player for the Palestinians, moving its regional and international interests outside Syria to the Palestinian issue, Dichter added.

Source : Mena