Israel cuts diplomatic ties with EU Foreign Policy Chief amid Gaza war rift

Israel has announced it is severing official contacts with the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, escalating tensions with Brussels amid ongoing disputes over the war in Gaza.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said he would halt all engagement with Kallas, accusing her of “blatant bias” against Israel and of making “serious” and “unfounded” comparisons between Israel and apartheid-era South Africa during a recent visit to Mexico.

According to a statement posted by Sa’ar on the social media platform X,  he also criticised Kallas for failing to clarify or retract the remarks, which he described as a “blood libel” against Israel.

Sa’ar said he had “no alternative” but to suspend contacts with Kallas until she withdrew her comments, adding that Israel remained “the only democracy in the Middle East” and rejecting the comparison.

By Aghakazim Guliyev