Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar announced on Thursday that he was cutting off all communication with the European Union’s Foreign Policy Chief, Kaja Kallas, following reports that she had likened Israel to South Africa’s former apartheid regime, according to Arab News.
The European Union and Israel have faced mounting tensions since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023. The divisions further increased over violent attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
Saar on Thursday criticized Kallas, accusing her of treating Israel with “blatant unfairness” and pursuing an “obsessive” approach toward the country.
“Recently, it was published that during her visit to Mexico, she compared Israel to the racist apartheid regime that existed in South Africa,” Saar wrote on X.
However, Kallas had not issued any public denial, clarification, or response concerning the reported remarks.
Cutting off Contact
As a result, Saar decided to severe all contact with Kallas until she withdrew what he considered as a “blood libel” against the world’s only Jewish state and the Middle East’s only democracy.
Kallas made these remarks during a closed-door meeting with Mexican government officials while visiting Mexico last month.
She responded to Saar’s comments on Thursday by stressing the importance of maintaining dialogue between the EU and Israel, but she did not address the reported “apartheid” remarks.
“I value our dialogue and engagement, and I’m open to continue in that spirit, respectfully and constructively,” Kallas wrote on X.
She also underscored the EU’s commitment to maintaining a constructive relationship with Israel, while emphasizing that a two-state solution remains the only viable path to achieve lasting peace in the Middle East.
“The EU has condemned the illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank that make it increasingly difficult to get to that goal. That is the EU position,” Kallas added.
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