Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Thursday he would halt "all contact" with the European Union's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, after media reports attributed to her a comparison of Israel to apartheid-era South Africa.
In a social media post, Saar said Kallas had reportedly "compared Israel to the racist apartheid regime" during her trip to Mexico last month, and that he would not engage with her until she retracted those remarks. In subsequent posts on X, Saar amplified content from other accounts that referenced a June 12 report by the European outlet Euractiv. That report, citing unnamed officials and diplomats, said that during her Mexican visit Kallas had compared Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza to the policies of South Africa under apartheid, a system of legally enforced racial segregation.
Kallas replied on X, underscoring the importance of continued engagement while not directly addressing the comments attributed to her. "Dear Gideon, as you know, the EU and Israel have a lot that binds us," she wrote. "I value our dialogue and engagement, and I’m open to continue in that spirit, respectfully and constructively. Dialogue is the foundation of diplomacy, especially when differences arise. The EU is always committed to a constructive relationship with Israel," she added.
Context from EU statements and actions
The European Union has been publicly critical of Israel’s expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, positions that are widely viewed within the bloc as contravening international law and as obstacles to Israeli-Palestinian peace and to the establishment of a Palestinian state. In May, the EU imposed sanctions on three individuals and four entities it said were responsible for "serious and systematic human rights abuses against Palestinians in the West Bank." Israel, through Saar, firmly rejected that decision at the time.
The EU has also criticised aspects of Israel’s conduct in the war in Gaza while at the same time reaffirming Israel’s right to self-defence. Member states within the 27-nation bloc remain divided on their stance toward Israel, with some governments taking a highly critical line and others maintaining closer ties.
On Thursday Saar accused Kallas of "acting obsessively and with blatant unfairness toward the State of Israel." Kallas, in her reply, reiterated that "to bring peace to the Middle East, the Two-State Solution remains the only viable path." She also restated the EU position that it has condemned the illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which the bloc says make it increasingly difficult to achieve that goal.
What this means for diplomatic relations
By publicly suspending contact with the EU foreign policy chief, Saar has signalled a notable diplomatic rift between Israel and a senior EU representative. Kallas’s written response stressed a preference for continued engagement and framed dialogue as essential to diplomacy, but did not directly address the specific words attributed to her by the media report.
Both sides reiterated established positions: Saar expressed rejection of EU punitive measures and criticism, while Kallas reaffirmed the EU’s commitment to a constructive relationship with Israel and the bloc’s concern about settlement expansion. The disagreement highlights persistent tensions between Israel and parts of the EU regarding settlements, conduct in Gaza, and the broader pathway to peace.