Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Thursday he was severing “all contact” with European ​Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas over what he said ‌were remarks attributed to her comparing Israel to apartheid-era South Africa.

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.

There was ⁠no immediate comment from Kallas’ office.

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

The European ‌Union ⁠has criticised Israel’s expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, widely viewed as illegal under international law and an obstacle to Israel-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.

The EU ⁠has also 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.

On Thursday, Saar accused Kallas of “acting obsessively and with blatant unfairness toward the ​State of Israel”.