The Japan Times - Israel FM cuts contact with EU top diplomat over 'apartheid' remarks

Diplomatic relations between Israel and the EU have come under heavy strain since the Gaza war erupted in October 2023, with violence by Israeli settlers towards Palestinians in the occupied West Bank another point of contention.

On Thursday, Israel's Gideon Saar accused EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas of "acting obsessively and with blatant unfairness" towards his country.

Saar's remarks follow a report by European news outlet Euractiv, which said Kallas made the comments during a closed-door meeting with Mexican government officials last month.

"To date, no denial, clarification or response has been issued," he said.

"Therefore, as the foreign minister of the State of Israel, I have 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."

- 'Vile and defamatory' -

Kallas twice responded to Saar's comments on Thursday -- via social media and to reporters -- but declined to address the alleged "apartheid" remarks.

"I will not go down that road that I will comment on anything, what was said or not said, behind closed doors," she said on arrival at an EU summit in Brussels, where ties with Israel were on the agenda.

"It's true that we don't see always eye to eye with the Israelis, for example, regarding the violent settlers and the expansion of settlements on the West Bank," she said, noting she had "good, open, and frank" discussions with Saar that she hoped would continue.

The blowup came as EU leaders were set to discuss next steps on Israel -- including a renewed push to sanction Israeli ministers and target trade linked to settlements in the West Bank.

Kallas will likely face heat during the talks.

"I explicitly do not share this choice of words, and we will also have to talk about it," German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said ahead of the meeting.

Before her comments, Saar replied to Kallas on X that his decision "will remain unchanged" until she clarified whether she made the "apartheid" remarks.

"If you did indeed make these vile and defamatory statements, stand behind them," he said in a new post on X. "If you did not make them, deny it."

- EU mission renewal -

The current tensions could complicate cooperation on certain sensitive issues.

Diplomatic and security sources have told AFP that Israel was due to renew the authorisation for the deployment of the EU's border assistance mission (EUBAM) at the Rafah crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt around June 20.

"EUBAM is one of the only things that has been working since the start of the ceasefire in Gaza, and... this is not the time to anger the Israelis," said a European security source working in the region.

Violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank has increased since the start of the Gaza war. Rights groups report near-daily attacks on Palestinians and their property.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, and settlement expansion has been a policy under successive Israeli governments, though it has accelerated significantly under the current coalition led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

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H.Takahashi--JT