Newsroom
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has announced he is cutting off all contact with the European Union’s top foreign policy official, Kaja Kallas, following controversy over reported remarks linking Israel’s policies toward Palestinians to apartheid-era South Africa.
In a statement posted on social media, Saar said the decision was made after what he described as “serious statements” attributed to Kallas during closed-door discussions with senior officials in Mexico City last month.
According to diplomatic sources cited in the reports, Kallas, who was part of a European Union delegation, allegedly made the comparison while discussing the situation in Gaza and the West Bank during high-level talks with Mexican government representatives.
The reported remarks have not been publicly confirmed or officially clarified by Kallas’ office, according to Saar, who said there had been no denial or explanation issued despite growing political pressure.
“I am grateful to the many European elected representatives who condemned this serious statement,” Saar said in his post. “However, to date, no denial, clarification or response has been issued.”
He added that as Israel’s foreign minister, he had “no choice” but to suspend all contact with Kallas until she retracts what he called “slander” against Israel, which he described as “the only Jewish state in the world and the only democracy in the Middle East.”
The comments have sparked immediate political fallout, adding fresh strain to already tense relations between Israel and parts of the European Union over the war in Gaza and broader humanitarian concerns in the region.
European officials have not yet issued a collective response to Israel’s decision, and it remains unclear whether the diplomatic break will affect ongoing coordination on regional security, aid access, or ceasefire discussions.
Kallas, a senior EU figure responsible for foreign policy coordination, has not publicly responded to the allegations attributed to her remarks in Mexico City.
The incident highlights the increasingly sensitive diplomatic balancing act between the EU and Israel, particularly as divisions deepen over language used to describe the conflict and its humanitarian impact.
For now, the move signals a sharp deterioration in direct communication between two key international actors at a time when diplomatic channels in the Middle East are already under intense pressure.
