European Union (EU) High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar exchanged words on X after Kallas reportedly compared Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza to South Africa’s apartheid-era policies.

Saar said he was severing “all contact” with the EU official after Kallas posted that the EU remains committed to a constructive relationship with Israel.

In a post on X addressed to Saar, the EU’s top diplomat said: “I value our dialogue and engagement, and I’m open to continue in that spirit, respectfully and constructively.”

Kallas added that the EU remains committed to the two-state solution and has reiterated that the bloc has condemned Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

In a post on social media, Saar said Kallas had reportedly “compared Israel to the racist apartheid regime” during a visit to Mexico and that as a result he was severing contact until she retracted the comments.

In subsequent posts on X, the Israeli minister shared posts from other accounts that mentioned or referenced a June 12 report by European news website Euractiv, which cited unnamed officials and diplomats as saying that, during a visit to Mexico last month, Kallas had compared Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza to South Africa’s apartheid-era policies, a system of legally enforced racial segregation.

The EU has criticised Israel’s expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, which are 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”.

In response, Saar at the time said Israel firmly rejected the decision.

Following Kallas’ response to Saar’s post, the Israeli minister said that Kallas’ statement doesn’t reflect the EU’s position, characterising her original statement as “shameful and libelous”.

The Israeli minister also accused Kallas of “acting obsessively and with blatant unfairness toward the State of Israel”.

The EU has previously criticised Israel’s conduct in the war in Gaza while reaffirming its right to defend itself. But the bloc’s 27 member states are divided, with some highly critical of Israel and others maintaining close ties.

Earlier this year, both the EU and United Nations issued statements criticising Israel, likening its treatment of Palestinians to South Africa’s apartheid policies.