{"id":8712,"date":"2026-10-14T14:51:57","date_gmt":"2026-10-14T14:51:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=8712"},"modified":"2026-10-14T14:51:57","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T14:51:57","slug":"colombia-inaugurates-embassy-to-israel-in-jerusalem-israel-palestine-conflict-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=8712","title":{"rendered":"Colombia inaugurates embassy to Israel in Jerusalem | Israel-Palestine conflict News"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Palestinian officials condemn move by Colombia\u2019s new government that marked a major shift after former President Petro had severed ties with Israel.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Published On 14 Oct 2026<\/span>14 Oct 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Colombia has opened its embassy to Israel in Jerusalem<\/a>, joining a small group of countries in taking the controversial step of backing Israel\u2019s claim to sovereignty in the contested city.<\/p>\n

Palestinian officials swiftly denounced the inauguration on Wednesday that came as Israel is facing mounting international pressure<\/a> over the genocidal war on Gaza, where three years of attacks have killed more than 74,000 people.<\/p>\n

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The move by the administration of new Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella is a major shift from his left-wing predecessor Gustavo Petro, who in 2024 severed ties with Israel<\/a> over the war on Gaza.<\/p>\n

De la Espriella, who was sworn in in August<\/a>, has also restored a free trade agreement between Israel and Colombia that Petro terminated.<\/p>\n

Colombian Minister of Foreign Affairs Omar \u200cBula Escobar said on Wednesday that relations between the two countries \u201cshould \u2060never have been broken\u201d and that Bogota was taking \u201ctaking a concrete step towards \u2060restoring diplomatic relations\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIsrael is a strategic partner. It always has been, and from now on, it will be an even stronger one,\u201d he said during a ceremony that marked the embassy\u2019s opening.<\/p>\n

The opening made Colombia the 10th country to establish its embassy in Israel in Jerusalem \u2013 most countries keep their formal diplomatic missions\u00a0in Tel Aviv.<\/p>\n

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar welcomed the move during the ceremony. \u201cThis is an important date for the State of Israel. It\u2019s also an important date for the city of Jerusalem,\u201d he said while signing the Colombian embassy\u2019s guest book.<\/p>\n

Colombian Ambassador Tania Gilinski said Israel had always been a \u201cstrategic partner\u201d and that moving forward it \u201cwill be so with even greater determination and strength\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u2018Violation of international law\u2019<\/h2>\n

The Palestinian Authority condemned Colombia\u2019s embassy move, calling it \u201ca violation of international legitimacy resolutions\u201d that undermines \u201cthe international consensus on the legal status of the holy city\u201d.<\/p>\n

Jordan\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also criticised the move as a \u201cviolation of international law and relevant international resolutions\u201d.<\/p>\n

United States President Donald Trump moved the US embassy to Israel<\/a> from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem during his first term in 2018, angering Palestinians and sparking international condemnation. Previous US presidents, as well as nearly every other country, refrained from opening embassies in Jerusalem, arguing that the city\u2019s final status should first be resolved in negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.<\/p>\n

The status of Jerusalem remains one of the core unresolved issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with Israel claiming the undivided city as its capital while Palestinians view occupied East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.<\/p>\n

Israel occupied East Jerusalem and annexed it in 1967, in a move not recognised by the vast majority of the international community.<\/p>\n

Since Trump relocated the US embassy to Jerusalem, only a handful of small, US-aligned countries have followed suit, namely Fiji, Guatemala, Honduras, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay and Nauru. Kosovo and Somaliland, which are not member-states of the United Nations, have also opened what they consider their embassies in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Palestinian officials condemn move by Colombia\u2019s new government that marked a major shift after former President Petro had severed ties with Israel. Published On 14 Oct 202614 Oct 2026 Colombia has opened its embassy to Israel in Jerusalem, joining a small group of countries in taking the controversial step of backing Israel\u2019s claim to sovereignty…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8712","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-international-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t