Israeli FM severs contact with EU foreign policy chief over apartheid remark

JERUSALEM -- Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said on Thursday that he is severing all contact with European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas for reportedly comparing Israel to apartheid-era South Africa.

The Israeli minister said on the social media platform X that Kallas has been acting obsessively and with blatant unfairness toward Israel.

Sa'ar said Kallas has issued "no denial, clarification, or response" regarding the reported remarks she made during her visit to Mexico last month.

He added that cutting ties with Kallas will be in effect "until she retracts the blood libel."

In response, Kallas, a former Estonian prime minister, said she valued "dialogue and engagement" with Israel and that the EU remained committed to a "constructive relationship," but she made no mention of the reported apartheid comment.

"To bring peace to the Middle East, the Two-State Solution 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," said Kallas on X.

Sa'ar quickly replied, "You refrain from denying or condemning what has been attributed to you and published publicly."

"If you did indeed make these vile and defamatory statements, stand behind them. If you did not make them, deny it," said the Israeli foreign minister.