EU compares Israel to Russia, Israel outraged: 'Unacceptable'

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas compared Israeli settlements to Russia-annexed Crimea, suggesting sanctions against them. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar strongly rejected the comparison, calling it 'unacceptable' and lacking factual and legal basis. Sa'ar emphasized the historical connection of the Jewish people to Judea and Samaria and stated that these territories never belonged to a non-existent Palestinian state.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, in an interview with The Irish Times, compared Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria to Russia-annexed Crimea. She stated that they should be treated the same and supported imposing sanctions on settlements, calling it a 'matter of principle'. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar harshly criticized this statement on social media platform X on September 11. He called the comparison 'completely lacking any factual or legal basis and utterly unacceptable'. Sa'ar emphasized that the connection of the Jewish people to Judea, Samaria, and the Land of Israel is 'documented more extensively than the connection and rights of any other people in human history'. He also noted that these territories 'never belonged to a Palestinian state, which never existed'. Sa'ar questioned what Kallas is trying to achieve by comparing 'the only democracy in the Middle East' to Russia. The article notes that this is not Sa'ar's first conflict with Kallas: she previously allegedly compared Israel to an apartheid regime, after which Sa'ar announced the cessation of contacts with her.