Kallas responded by urging Israel to accept a Palestinian state as “the only viable solution.”
By Shula Rosen
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced Thursday that Israel would suspend “all contact” with European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, accusing her of comparing Israel to apartheid-era South Africa and demanding that she retract the remarks.
In a post on X, Sa’ar said Kallas had reportedly made the comparison during a visit to Mexico in May. He said communication with the European Union official would remain frozen until she withdrew the comments.
Sa’ar described the comparison between Israel and apartheid South Africa as a “blood libel” and accused Kallas of acting “obsessively and with blatant unfairness” toward Israel.
The dispute comes amid continuing tensions between Israel and the European Union over issues including sanctions and trade agreements.
Israel previously boycotted Kallas’s predecessor, Josep Borrell, in 2023 following the publication of an article in which he compared Israeli settler attacks in the West Bank to Palestinian terrorist attacks against Israelis and criticized proposed judicial reform legislation.
Later Thursday, Kallas responded publicly on X, seeking to ease the dispute but without retracting the alleged remarks or acknowledging that they had been made.
“Dear Gideon, as you know, the EU and Israel have a lot that binds us. I value our dialogue and engagement, and I’m open to continue in that spirit, respectfully and constructively,” she wrote.
Kallas added: “Dialogue is the foundation of diplomacy, especially when differences arise. The EU is always committed to a constructive relationship with Israel.”
She concluded her statement by reiterating the European Union’s position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Kallas wrote that a “two-state solution” between Israel and the Palestinians remains the “only viable path.”
“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,” she said.
The current Israeli government opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state. Sa’ar has previously described a two-state solution as an “illusion” and “not a realistic goal,” arguing that the creation of a Palestinian state would be “suicidal” for Israeli security.
He has also said that an independent Palestinian state would become a “Hamas state” that would pose a threat to Israel.
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