Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin accused the European Union of “working to topple the elected government from power.”

The claims regarding the European Union ”are entirely false, offensive and unacceptable,” an EU spokesperson said.

‘’The  European Union has never and will never attempt to bring down a democratically elected government,’’ the EU said Thursday after  attorney Yoram Sheftel, representing Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin described during a High Court hearing the European Union as a “hostile” body and accused the EU of orchestrating a coordinated effort to force Levin out of office.

‘’The claims made by a lawyer representing Justice Minister Yariv Levin regarding the European Union are entirely false, offensive and unacceptable. I want to be clear from here,’’ said Thursday Anouar El Anounci, EU spokesperson for foreign affairs. ‘’We expect these comments to be withdrawn immediately,’’ he added.

‘’We are proud of our support for civil society organizations around the world and in the region, including those promoting democratic values that are at the heart of the European Union’s relationship with the State of Israel,’’ he said.

Minister Levin accused the European Union of “working to topple the elected government from power.”  He made the remarks in his response to a petition by the Zulat Institute for Equality and Human Rights, claiming among other things that “the European Union funds protests against Israel’s elected government, and this during an existential war.”

He alleged that the petitioner is “funded by foreign powers that are extremely hostile to the State of Israel. The hostility of those powers reached its peak during the War of Revival—which has not yet ended—by imposing an arms embargo on Israel, in an attempt to prevent it from achieving total victory over the Nazi-Hamas enemy,’’ wrote the Israeli Justice Minister.