Israel severed diplomatic ties with European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on Thursday after Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar accused her of comparing Israel’s policies to apartheid-era South Africa, escalating a diplomatic crisis hours before an EU summit. Saar announced the immediate suspension of all contact with Kallas, citing media reports about her remarks on Israel’s actions in the West Bank and Gaza. The move follows repeated warnings from Israeli officials that such comparisons would have consequences, with Saar framing the decision as a response to what he described as a “serious and unfounded accusation.”

The dispute centers on Kallas’s alleged comparison of Israel’s policies to apartheid, a term the UN human rights office has previously used to describe Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. In a statement, Saar said Kallas’s comments were “unacceptable and damaging to Israel’s international standing,” adding that the EU’s top diplomat had crossed a “red line.” The Israeli foreign ministry confirmed the severing of ties in a statement released late Thursday, though it did not specify whether the suspension would extend to other EU officials or institutions.

The timing of the announcement—just hours before the EU summit in Brussels—has drawn criticism from European diplomats, who argue that the move risks further straining relations at a critical moment. A spokesperson for the European External Action Service declined to comment on the record but noted that the EU remains committed to dialogue with Israel. Meanwhile, Kallas herself has not publicly addressed the allegations, though Estonian media reported earlier this week that she had joked about taking a “short pause” in her interactions with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, a remark that may have fueled the Israeli government’s response.

The escalation comes amid growing international scrutiny of Israel’s policies in the occupied territories. The UN human rights office has repeatedly found that Israel’s actions in the West Bank and Gaza violate international laws prohibiting apartheid, a charge Israel has long rejected. In a separate development on Thursday, Somalia warned Israel against interfering in Somaliland after the breakaway region opened its first overseas embassy in Jerusalem, further complicating Israel’s diplomatic landscape.

The rupture in relations between Israel and the EU’s top diplomat underscores the deepening divisions over Israel’s conduct in the Palestinian territories and the growing willingness of European leaders to publicly challenge Israeli policies. With the EU summit looming, the diplomatic fallout from this dispute is likely to dominate discussions among European leaders, who must now navigate a crisis that threatens to overshadow broader geopolitical priorities.

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