Israel slams EU’s Kallas for ‘apartheid’ comment: Are ties unravelling?
Key takeaways
- Leaked media reports quoted EU’s top diplomat likening Israel to South Africa’s apartheid regime.
- The diplomatic row follows reports by European news outlet Euractiv that Kallas made the remarks during high-level talks with Mexican officials in May.
- So what does this row mean for relations between Israel and the EU?
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
Leaked media reports quoted EU’s top diplomat likening Israel to South Africa’s apartheid regime.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas has come under scrutiny for private remarks on Israel [File: Jean-Christophe Verhaegen/AFP]By Federica Marsi Published On 19 Jun 202619 Jun 2026Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said this week he would suspend contact with the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, over reports that she compared Israel’s treatment of Palestinians with South Africa’s former apartheid system.
The diplomatic row follows reports by European news outlet Euractiv that Kallas made the remarks during high-level talks with Mexican officials in May. Citing unnamed officials, the outlet reported that the EU diplomat privately likened Israel’s policies in Gaza and the occupied West Bank to the racial segregation regime that ruled South Africa until the mid-1990s.