TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Thursday said he was cutting ties to the EU's foreign policy representative Kaja Kallas, challenging her to address a Euractiv media report claiming that she compared Israel's treatment of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza to Apartheid South Africa in a visit to Mexico last month.
As reported by DW, the move comes amid strain on EU relations with Israel amid the conflicts that followed the October 7, 2023, attacks and more longstanding points of disagreement like Israeli settlement-building in occupied Palestinian territory.
It also coincides with Kallas, formerly the Estonian prime minister, facing internal pressure and reports of dissatisfaction with her performance from several European governments for other gaffes or perceived mistakes in her role atop the European External Action Service (EEAS).
What did Saar say about cutting ties to Kallas?
Saar prefaced his comments online by saying that, "for some time now," Kallas had been "acting obsessively and with blatant unfairness toward the State of Israel."
He then alluded to the June 12 report from Euractiv alleging that she had compared Israel's treatment of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank to the behavior of South Africa's apartheid regime.
"I am grateful to the many European elected representatives who condemned this grave statement," Saar said, later sharing some such comments, including one from German Christian Democrat veteran Armin Laschet. "However, to date, no denial, clarification or response has been issued by her regarding this severe statement."
He said he therefore had "no choice but to sever all contact with Ms. Kallas until she retracts the blood libel she directed at the world's only Jewish state, which is also the only democracy in the Middle East."
How did Kallas respond?
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kallas responded addressing Saar by his first name but without directly tagging him or his comments online.
"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."
She said the EU was "always committed" to a constructive relationship with Israel.
"To bring peace to the Middle East, the Two-State Solution is the only viable path," she wrote. "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."
Earlier in the week, Kallas had said that the EU would explore options for restricting trade with Israeli settlements following calls from several member countries. She announced sanctions on West Bank settlers last month. She had also noted that several member states had called for sanctions on hardline Defense Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, but said no consensus had yet emerged.
The EU's 27 members can exhibit quite disparate stances on Israeli foreign policy at the more granular level, ranging from more staunch supporters like Germany and Hungary to countries and governments that tend to be more critical like Spain, Slovenia and Ireland.
Saar responded to Kallas soon after, saying "even in your remarks here you refrain from denying or condemning what has been attributed to you and published publicly."
"The matter is simple: if you did indeed make these vile and defamatory statements, stand behind them. If you did not make them, deny it. Until this matter is cleared up, my decision will remain unchanged," he said.
What did the report about Kallas in Mexico allege?
The report, published last Friday by the European news outlet Euractiv funded in part by the EU, cited unnamed "officials and diplomats," saying some of them had been present at the "high-level talks" in question as an EU delegation visited Mexico between May 20 and 22.
It did not directly quote or even paraphrase Kallas, except to allege that she had drawn some kind of comparison between its behavior and South Africa's apartheid-era governance.
"During closed-door and confidential meetings with Mexican government representatives, Kallas compared Israel's treatment of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank to the racist apartheid policies of South Africa, which ended in the early 1990s," Euractiv wrote.
It added that she had described being moved by a recent visit to South Africa's apartheid museum in Johannesburg, without elaborating on how exactly she drew a parallel.
It quoted an "EU diplomat" as saying: "The EU is critical of Israel and supports a two-state solution. The comparison with apartheid is unacceptable and not EU policy. It is a big problem if she is making these kinds of statements while officially representing the EU on the world stage."
Kallas' office had declined to comment on the report.
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