Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has said he is severing “all contact” with European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, following remarks attributed to her that reportedly compared Israel’s policies toward Palestinians to apartheid-era South Africa.
The diplomatic fallout highlights growing tensions between Israel and the EU amid ongoing disagreements over the war in Gaza and settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.
Saar said Kallas had “compared Israel to the racist apartheid regime” during a visit to Mexico last month, according to reports he cited from European media outlets. He demanded a retraction of the comments, saying contact would remain frozen until she withdrew them.
The remarks in question were reported by Euractiv and cited unnamed officials as saying Kallas had drawn parallels between Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza and South Africa’s former system of apartheid, which enforced racial segregation.
Kaja Kallas did not directly address the specific allegation but responded by stressing the importance of maintaining diplomatic engagement.
She said she valued EU–Israel relations and remained open to continued “respectful and constructive” dialogue, adding that diplomacy is essential even amid disagreements.
Kallas also reiterated the EU position that a two-state solution remains the only viable path to lasting peace in the Middle East.
The dispute comes against a backdrop of long-standing European criticism of Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, which the EU considers illegal under international law and an obstacle to peace efforts.
In May, the EU imposed sanctions on individuals and entities it said were involved in serious human rights abuses against Palestinians in the West Bank. Israel rejected the measures at the time.
While the EU has also affirmed Israel’s right to self-defence during the Gaza conflict, member states remain divided, with some strongly critical of Israeli military actions and others maintaining closer political and security ties.
Saar accused Kallas of “acting obsessively and with blatant unfairness toward the State of Israel,” signalling further deterioration in relations between Israeli officials and parts of the EU foreign policy apparatus.
The episode underscores the fragility of EU unity on Middle East policy and the widening diplomatic gap between Israel and European institutions over the conduct of the war, settlement activity, and the future framework for peace.
A Kyiv-Warsaw train was struck near the Polish border, Ukraine's state railway firm said on Sunday. No passengers were injured. Ukrai...
Maritime trackers received new reports of an attack on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, according to the ...
Indonesian rescuers are searching for 130 people after a passenger ship carrying 243 people sank in the Java Sea following bad weather, while 113 p...
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian arrived in New Delhi on Friday to attend the weekend BRICS summit, amid the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict, joining a host of foreign dignitaries.
Maritime trackers received new reports of an attack on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), adding to concerns about energy supplies after Saudi Arabia shut down a vital oil pipeline on Saturday.
A Kyiv-Warsaw train was struck near the Polish border, Ukraine's state railway firm said on Sunday. No passengers were injured. Ukrainian Railways said that the country's railways were facing systematic attacks for a second day and warned of widespread delays.
Dubai’s property market has spent years climbing. Now, for the first time since 2021, prices are moving in the opposite direction.
Saudi Arabia has temporarily shut down its 1,200-kilometre East-West oil pipeline after it was hit by a drone attack, with Riyadh and Baghdad saying the strike originated from Iraq.
A Kyiv-Warsaw train was struck near the Polish border, Ukraine's state railway firm said on Sunday. No passengers were injured. Ukrainian Railways said that the country's railways were facing systematic attacks for a second day and warned of widespread delays.
Indonesian rescuers are searching for 130 people after a passenger ship carrying 243 people sank in the Java Sea following bad weather, while 113 people have been evacuated and six have died, the country’s search and rescue agency said on Sunday.
China will lead the creation of an open source platform among BRICS members to promote cooperation on large language models, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Sunday.
Swedes vote in an election on Sunday (13 September) that could see the far-right enter government for the first time if the country's right-wing parties can form a majority.
Philippine rescuers recovered 41 more charred remains from a ferry fire on Saturday (12 September), taking the death toll to 76, while 13 people remained unaccounted for as forensic teams worked to identify the victims.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment