EU cancels diplomatic reception to prevent radical Israeli minister attending

Relations have already been strained over Israeli policies in the occupied West Bank.

Itamar Ben Gvir would have addressed attendees at the event (Maya Alleruzzo/AP)

The European Union said it had cancelled a diplomatic reception to prevent a radical ultranationalist Israeli minister from attending.

The act of protest by the EU’s delegation to Israel against a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, the most religious and ultranationalist in the country’s history, could cause a diplomatic spat between Israel and the EU.