Sa'ar Calls EU-Turkey Outreach a Hypocrisy Lesson

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar accused EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas of a double standard after she praised Ankara as a key partner following meetings with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Turkish ministers. The EU's official release says the June 30 talks focused on EU-Turkiye ties, migration, security, trade, energy and regional issues, while Kallas called Turkiye an EU candidate and a strategic partner. Sa'ar answered that the post ignored Erdogan's record of opposition arrests, force against protesters, pressure on journalists and politicized courts. Israel's message is clear: Europe cannot lecture Jerusalem while soft-pedaling Turkish authoritarianism and Ankara's hostility to Israel.