The border between Israel and Gaza on October 9, 2025. (Photo: AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP)
Israel’s foreign minister announced on Thursday that he was cutting all contact with Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s head of foreign policy, after she allegedly compared Israel to the former apartheid regime in South Africa.
Diplomatic relations between Israel and the EU have been under pressure since the outbreak of the war in Gaza in 2023.
Gideon Saar, Israel’s foreign minister, accused Kallas of acting “obsessively and openly unfairly” towards Israel.
“During her visit to Mexico, she compared Israel to the racist apartheid regime,” Saar wrote on X.
“So far, however, there has been no explanation or response from her regarding this serious statement.”
He said he therefore had no other choice but to break all contact with Kallas until she withdraws the “slander” against the world’s only Jewish state, and according to him also the only democracy in the Middle East.
Benjamin Netanyahu in Florida. (Photo: Jim Watson / AFP)
According to Euractiv, a European news platform, Kallas made the comments during a meeting with government officials during a visit to Mexico last month.
On Thursday, Kallas responded to Saar’s remarks by pointing out the importance of continued dialogue between the EU and Israel, but did not say anything directly about the alleged “apartheid” remark.
“I value our dialogue and engagement, and I am prepared to continue it in a respectful and constructive manner,” she wrote on X.
She said that the EU remains committed to a relationship with Israel and that a two-state solution is still the only viable path to peace in the Middle East.
She further confirmed that some EU member states have proposed sanctions against Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s Minister of National Security, although there is no consensus on this yet.
Any EU sanctions must be approved by all 27 member states, and strong supporters of Israel have so far opposed such measures.