Colombia opens its embassy in Jerusalem, 10th country to do so
President Abelardo de la Espriella's government reverses Gustavo Petro's Israel policy; the Palestinian Authority and Jordan condemned the move.
Colombia opened its embassy in Jerusalem on Wednesday. Colombian Foreign Minister Omar Bula Escobar cut the ribbon alongside his Israeli counterpart, Gideon Saar, according to Al Jazeera. With the new mission, Colombia would be the 10th country with an embassy in the city, which Israel considers its capital.
The shift follows the change of government in Bogota. In May 2024, Gustavo Petro cut ties with Israel over the war in Gaza, according to Semana, a Colombian news outlet. His successor, Abelardo de la Espriella, took office in August and restored relations. Israel had announced in July an agreement to exchange ambassadors and move the mission to Jerusalem, according to Ynetnews.
At the ceremony, Bula said relations "should never have been broken" and called Israel "a strategic partner," per Al Jazeera. Saar called it "an important date for the State of Israel."
The Palestinian Authority condemned the move as "a violation of international legitimacy resolutions." Jordan's Foreign Ministry called it a violation of international law and of UN resolutions.
Why it is contested
Israel occupied and annexed East Jerusalem in 1967, and Palestinians claim it as the capital of their future state. Most of the international community does not recognize the annexation, which is why nearly every country keeps its embassy in Tel Aviv. Semana notes that Colombia opened its mission in Jerusalem in 1957 and moved it to Tel Aviv in 1980, after a UN Security Council resolution.
There is not yet a second independent report on the ceremony, nor a recorded reaction from Petro or the Arab League. Saar said another country will open a mission there very soon and did not name it. Semana points to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, though the Israeli minister did not confirm it.
