BRUSSELS, June 18 (Reuters) - Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Thursday he was severing "all contact" with European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas over what he said were remarks attributed to her comparing Israel to apartheid-era South Africa.
In a post on social media, Saar said Kallas had reportedly "compared Israel to the racist apartheid regime" during a visit to Mexico last month and that as a result he was severing contact until she retracted the comments.
In subsequent posts on X, Saar shared posts from other accounts that mentioned or referenced a June 12 report by European news website Euractiv. It cited unnamed officials and diplomats as saying that during her visit to Mexico, Kallas had compared Israel's treatment of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza to the policies of South Africa under apartheid, a system of legally enforced racial segregation.
Kallas responded to the Israeli minister in a post on X, underlining the importance of dialogue but not directly addressing the comments attributed to her.
"Dear Gideon, as you know, the EU and Israel have a lot that binds us," she said.
"I value our dialogue and engagement, and I’m open to continue in that spirit, respectfully and constructively. Dialogue is the foundation of diplomacy, especially when differences arise. The EU is always committed to a constructive relationship with Israel," she added.
EU CRITICISM OF SETTLEMENT EXPANSION
The European Union has criticised Israel's expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, widely viewed as illegal under international law and as an obstacle to Israeli-Palestinian peace and the establishment of a Palestinian state.
In May, the EU sanctioned three individuals and four entities that it said were responsible for "serious and systematic human rights abuses against Palestinians in the West Bank". Saar said at the time that Israel firmly rejected the decision.
The EU has also criticised Israel's conduct in the war in Gaza while reaffirming Israel's right to defend itself. But the bloc's 27 member states are divided, with some highly critical of Israel and others maintaining close ties.
On Thursday, Saar accused Kallas of "acting obsessively and with blatant unfairness toward the State of Israel".
In her response, Kallas said that "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," she said.
(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell and Lili Bayer; editing by Barbara Lewis, William Maclean, Aidan Lewis)
