Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar emphasized the importance of relations between Israel and Europe on Monday, ahead of a meeting with the European Union Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Šuica, at the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Jerusalem.
"I believe in dialogue," he stated. "We believe in the importance of comprehensive, honest, and open dialogue with the EU. But 'dialogue' cannot just be one side dictating its political positions to the other side. Certainly not when it comes to issues at the very heart of our existence.”
Last week, Sa'ar had announced that he was severing all ties with EU Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas, following remarks she made during a recent visit to Mexico, comparing Israel to the racist South African apartheid regime.
"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," his statement said.
Before the meeting with the EU Mediterranean Commissioner, Sa'ar also stated that Israel would like to see US President Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan advance, but said that Hamas was "delaying."
"The condition for a different and better future for Gaza - and Israel’s security - remains the disarmament of Hamas and the other terror organizations there, and the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip," he said.
Palestinian Authority continues inciting violence, Sa'ar accuses
The Palestinian Authority was also not promoting the prospect of peace, Sa'ar stated.
"The Palestinian Authority speaks of reforms - but continues to pay salaries to terrorists. They continue to poison the minds of Palestinian society with endless incitement in its schools, textbooks, mosques, and media. There is, unfortunately, none of the change necessary to build a reliable and different relationship.”
The government, Sa'ar said, would not give up the Jewish people's right to the land of Israel, including Judea and Samaria.
"No other people in the world has such a strong and documented right to its land as the Jewish people to the Land of Israel," he explained. "Judea and Samaria is also the minimal strategic depth necessary for our security. No government in the past has accepted an approach that denies our basic right to live in our homeland and sees this as “illegal.” No future government will do so. And this government is no exception.”
Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.