14.10.2026 17:54
Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella is re-establishing diplomatic relations that his predecessor Gustavo Petro severed with Israel. Colombia moved its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem after 46 years. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and his Colombian counterpart attended the opening; the decision to terminate the free trade agreement between the two countries was also revoked.
Colombia has moved its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem after 46 years.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and his Colombian counterpart Omar Bula Escobar attended the opening ceremony of the new embassy building in Jerusalem. Minister Saar thanked Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella for his decision from his account on the US-based X social media platform.
"HE HAD PROMISED"
Recalling that in their meeting in Buenos Aires before the elections in Colombia, Espriella promised him that if elected president he would immediately move the embassy to Jerusalem, Saar boasted that during his time as foreign minister he had doubled the number of embassies in Jerusalem.
It was noted that during Colombian Foreign Minister Omar Bula's visit to Israel, the decision to terminate the free trade agreement between the two countries taken during the Gustavo Petro era was annulled and put back into effect.
FORMER COLOMBIAN PRESIDENT HAD SEVERED RELATIONS WITH ISRAEL
Former Colombian President Petro, who severed diplomatic relations with Israel in May 2024 citing the ongoing attacks against the Palestinian people in Gaza, reacted to the decision, stating that if Espriella moved the embassy to Jerusalem, it would be "the greatest disrespect to the entire Islamic world."
PALESTINE REACTS TO THE DECISION
In a statement from the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Colombia's opening of an embassy in Jerusalem was described as "a clear violation of international law and relevant UN resolutions, and an attack on the Palestinian people and their just and legitimate national rights." It was emphasized that all practices and decisions aimed at changing the legal and historical status of occupied Jerusalem are "null and void and will have no legal effect."
The statement said that Colombia's opening of an embassy in Jerusalem contradicts international legitimacy resolutions, particularly UN Security Council resolutions 476 and 478. It was noted that this step also undermines international consensus on the city's legal status and harms the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.
MANY COUNTRIES DO NOT RECOGNIZE JERUSALEM AS ISRAEL'S CAPITAL
Israel had unilaterally declared Jerusalem its "capital" in 1980, including East Jerusalem, which it occupied in 1967. However, many countries worldwide do not recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, and their embassies are located in Tel Aviv.
The embassies of the US, Guatemala, Honduras, Kosovo, Paraguay, Papua New Guinea and Fiji in Israel are located in Jerusalem. In addition, Somaliland, which declared unilateral independence from Somalia and is recognized by Israel, had opened its so-called embassy in Jerusalem.