Israeli Foreign Minister Cuts Contact with EU's Kallas Over Apartheid Comparison
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has announced he is cutting all contact with senior European Union official Kaja Kallas. Saar explained his decision relates to Kallas’s statement comparing Israel to apartheid-era South Africa.
Diplomatic tensions between Israel and the European Union have escalated since the Gaza war erupted in October 2023, with a spate of violent acts by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank becoming another point of contention.
Saar, as reported by AFP on Friday (19/6/2026), accused Kallas, who serves as the EU’s head of foreign policy, of having “acted obsessively and with blatant injustice” towards Israel.
“Recently, it was published that during a visit to Mexico, she compared Israel to the racist apartheid regime that once existed in South Africa,” Saar said in a statement via social media platform X on Thursday (18/6) local time.
“However, to date, no denial, clarification, or response has been issued by her regarding this harsh statement,” he said.
“Therefore, as Foreign Minister of the State of Israel, I have no choice but to cut all contact with Ms Kallas until she retracts the vile slander she directed at the world’s only Jewish state, which is also the only democracy in the Middle East,” Saar stressed in his statement.
According to European media outlet Euractiv, Kallas made the statement protested by Israel during a closed-door meeting with Mexican government officials during her visit last month.
Kallas responded to Saar’s criticism on Thursday (18/6), but declined to discuss the alleged “apartheid” remark.
“I value our dialogue and engagement, and I am open to continuing it in that spirit, respectfully and constructively,” the EU’s top diplomat wrote in a response statement via social media platform X.
“The EU has always been committed to a constructive relationship with Israel. To bring peace to the Middle East, the Two-State Solution remains the only viable path,” she added.
“The EU has condemned Israel’s illegal settlements in the West Bank, which increasingly complicate achieving that goal. That is the European Union’s position,” Kallas stressed.
Saar, in a follow-up statement, asserted that his decision “will not change” until Kallas clarifies whether she indeed made the “apartheid” remark.
“The issue is simple: If you did make this vile and slanderous statement, take responsibility for it. If you did not make it, deny it,” Saar said in his latest post via social media platform X.