Israeli FM Sa’ar blasts EU foreign policy chief over 'obsessive campaign against Israel'

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar accused European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas of waging an "obsessive campaign against Israel" after she failed on Monday to secure sufficient support among the EU's 27 member states for proposed sanctions targeting Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, internationally known as the West Bank.

The dispute highlights growing tensions between Israel and the European Union over settlements and the war in Gaza. While several EU member states have pushed for tougher measures against Israel, divisions within the bloc have so far prevented the adoption of new sanctions.

“The latest attempt by @KajaKallas to impose sanctions on Israel failed once again today at the EU Foreign Affairs Council. There was no consensus. There was no qualified majority. In fact, there was no majority at all. Yet Kallas has chosen to continue her obsessive campaign,” Sa’ar wrote in a post on the social media platform 𝕏.

“Israel’s relations with Europe should be based on dialogue and fairness. Tricks like this do nothing to advance our shared interests,” the Israeli foreign minister added.

The vote marked the latest effort by the European Commission to increase economic pressure on Israel. The commission initially focused on establishing a legal framework to ban imports of goods produced in Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.

Israeli officials have expressed concern that such measures could eventually expand into broader sanctions targeting the Jewish state and Israeli businesses.

The European Union is Israel’s largest trading partner. Bilateral trade between the EU and Israel reached €43.3 billion (around $50 billion) in 2025, while Israeli exports to the bloc totaled €15.3 billion (around $17.5 billion).

The proposed sanctions required the backing of at least 15 EU member states representing at least 65% of the bloc’s population. However, Kallas failed to secure the necessary support for the measures targeting Israeli communities beyond the Green Line, which Jerusalem views as part of a broader effort to isolate the Jewish state internationally.

Addressing reporters ahead of the meeting in Brussels, Kallas criticized Israel over the situation in Judea and Samaria.

“Everybody agrees that the situation in the West Bank is really intolerable,” the top EU official stated.

“There have been a lot of asks and requests from the member states regarding the ban on trade with illegal settlements,” she added.

Kallas did not address terrorism against Israelis or the Palestinian Authority's incitement against Israel and Jews.

Israel maintains that Judea and Samaria are disputed rather than "occupied" territories and rejects the international position that Jewish communities in the biblical territories are "illegal."

Last month, Israel officially severed ties with Kallas after she reportedly accused the Jewish state of "apartheid."

Israel’s top diplomat said at the time that Kallas "has for some time now been acting obsessively and with blatant unfairness toward the State of Israel."

“Therefore, 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, which is also the only democracy in the Middle East,” Sa’ar announced.

The European Union remains divided over how to approach Israel. France and Sweden have called for trade sanctions, while Germany and Italy have opposed such measures.

When Kallas, the former Estonian prime minister, was appointed in September 2024 to succeed the EU’s previous foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell of Spain, some Israeli officials hoped relations with Brussels would improve.

Following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, massacre of 1,200 people in Israel, Kallas publicly affirmed Israel’s right to defend itself.

Since taking office, however, Kallas has become increasingly critical of Israel, accusing the Jewish state of using "disproportionate" force in its war against Hamas, an EU-designated terrorist organization that calls for Israel’s destruction and the murder of Jews.