Gideon Saar cuts ties with EU’s Kaja Kallas over apartheid comparison

The diplomatic rift hinges on a June 12 report from Euractiv, which cited unnamed officials claiming Kallas drew parallels between Israeli policies in the West Bank and Gaza and the racial segregation system of apartheid. Saar, who has openly rejected previous European criticisms regarding the region, accused Kallas of acting with blatant unfairness toward Israel. Her office has yet to provide an official response to the accusation or the sudden freeze in communication.

This friction arrives against a backdrop of long-standing tension between Brussels and Jerusalem. While the European Union has maintained that Israel holds a right to self-defense, the bloc has simultaneously condemned the expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank as illegal under international law. In May, the EU imposed sanctions on individuals and entities linked to human rights abuses in the territories, a decision Saar dismissed at the time. With the 27 member states of the EU remaining deeply divided on their approach to the conflict, this personal diplomatic freeze further complicates an already fractured relationship.