No apology or high-level contact as EU-Israel ties sour over bid to block trade with settlements

Relations between Israel and the EU have deteriorated, with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas freezing contacts. This breakdown follows a push by Kallas to restrict trade with Israeli settlements and reports of her using the term "apartheid" to describe Israel's treatment of Palestinians. Saar responded by stating, "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." Kallas has neither confirmed nor denied using the term but remains open to dialogue. The dispute has escalated, with Kallas publicly backing trade restrictions on settlements through a qualified majority vote, a move Saar called an "obsessive campaign against Israel." Observers believe a repair in relations is unlikely before Israeli elections in late October.