High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas speaks to the media on the day of the European Union Foreign Ministers meeting in Brussels, Belgium, Feb. 24, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Yves Herman

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has once again ignited a political firestorm after urging the bloc to ban imports from Israeli communities in the West Bank and comparing Israel’s actions to Russia’s occupation of Crimea.

In a new interview with The Irish Times, Kallas — who has served as the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy since December 2024 — urged European governments to adopt what she called a “principled stance,” calling for an EU-wide ban on trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

The EU’s top diplomat cited a broad consensus among member states that Israeli communities in the territory are “illegal” under international law, yet efforts to secure an EU-wide trade ban have repeatedly failed amid deep divisions within the bloc.

“The question is what do we do about this? If we take the example when Crimea was occupied, then it was very clear, it’s illegal, we don’t recognize this, which means that we stop the trade with any products that come from Crimea,” Kallas said.

“We should have the same principled stance – you know this is illegal, everybody agrees – so we should stop trading with Occupied Palestinian Territories,” she continued.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar strongly condemned Kallas’ remarks, calling her comparison of Israeli communities in the West Bank to Crimea “unacceptable” while stressing that it “has no factual or legal basis.”

“The Jewish people’s connection and right to Judea and Samaria and the Land of Israel are more extensively documented than those of any other people in human history,” the top Israeli diplomat wrote in a post on X, using the ancient biblical and historical name for the West Bank preferred by Israel. “Contrary to the comparisons drawn by Ms. Kallas, Judea and Samaria have never belonged to a Palestinian state, which never existed. Even the Palestinians themselves signed on a negotiated solution for the disputed territories.”

“What is the high representative for foreign affairs and security policy trying to do? Comparing the only democracy in the Middle East, that contributes in so many ways to Europe’s defense and security, to Russia? Did she stop to think about what she was actually saying?” Saar continued.

The comparison drawn by @kajakallas has no factual or legal basis whatsoever and is completely unacceptable.

The Jewish people’s connection and right to Judea and Samaria and the Land of Israel are more extensively documented than those of any other people in human history.… https://t.co/JxV9SNKOPR

— Gideon Sa’ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) September 11, 2026

The latest diplomatic rift comes just a few days after the United Kingdom banned trade with Israeli communities in the West Bank, with Canada, France, and other European countries backing similar measures as part of a growing boycott campaign against the Jewish state.

In a sharp break from Britain’s longstanding foreign policy, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband accused the Jewish state of “unlawful occupation” of the West Bank, denouncing what he described as an “expansionist agenda via illegal settlements.”

“The British government agrees that there is ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank – perpetrated by settler terrorists,” Miliband said during a speech at the British Parliament on Tuesday. “The Israeli government has turned a blind eye to this and, worse, members of it have made statements and taken actions to support the forced displacement of Palestinians.”

Expected to take effect within six to nine months, London’s new policy measures will ban imports of goods from Israeli communities in the West Bank and impose sanctions on companies and individuals that “facilitate settlement expansion,” including those providing construction, infrastructure, financing, or real estate services for such development.

The British government will also deny licenses for arms and other exports deemed to materially support what British officials called Israel’s “occupation,” ban advertising for settlements in the UK, and sanction a group of “extremist settlers” accused of supporting or inciting violence against Palestinians.

Saar sharply denounced the British government’s latest measures, announcing the closure of the British consulate in Jerusalem and warning other countries against taking similar action against Israel.

The Israeli diplomat also unveiled further retaliatory measures, including barring Britain from the US-led Gaza coordination mission in Israel, ending British training for Palestinian Authority forces in the West Bank, and banning 12 elected officials and British citizens involved in anti-Israel or antisemitic activities from entering the country.

So far, Ireland, Belgium, Norway, and Spain are the only European countries to have advanced comprehensive legislative efforts aimed at banning trade with Israeli settlements.

The Netherlands is also expected to join such efforts, with a new law set to take effect on Sept. 22 that goes beyond similar measures elsewhere by banning imports from Israeli communities not only in the West Bank beyond the Green Line, but also from the Golan Heights.

Under the current Israeli government, settlement construction in the West Bank has accelerated, with new housing approvals and the legalization of previously unauthorized communities expanding Israel’s presence in the territory — land Palestinians seek as part of a future independent state and which most of the international community considers a violation of international law.

Israel disputes claims that the settlements are illegal, pointing to historical and legal ties to the land as well as arguing they provide strategic depth and security considerations.

Earlier this year, the Israeli government announced plans to advance the E1 project, a settlement initiative east of Jerusalem that would effectively bisect the West Bank and sever its connection to East Jerusalem — a move that drew widespread international condemnation and renewed calls from some governments for sanctions against Israel.