Colombia opened its embassy to Israel in Jerusalem on Wednesday, becoming the tenth country to take this step, alongside the resumption of the free trade agreement between the two countries. The decision drew Palestinian and Arab condemnation, with officials describing it as a violation of international law and international legitimacy resolutions concerning the city.
Palestinian condemnation of Colombia’s move
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said the opening of Colombia’s embassy in Jerusalem represented a “violation of international law and relevant United Nations resolutions, and an assault on the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people”. The ministry stressed that all measures and decisions aimed at changing the legal and historical status of Jerusalem were “null and void and have no legal effect”.
It said the embassy’s opening undermined the existing international consensus on the city’s legal status. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry called on the Colombian government to reverse its decision and comply with international law and United Nations resolutions. It also urged states and regional and international organisations to take political, diplomatic, economic and legal steps against countries that move their embassies to Jerusalem or open diplomatic missions there.
Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Kuwait reject embassy opening
The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs also condemned the opening of Colombia’s embassy, describing it as a “flagrant violation of international law and relevant international legitimacy resolutions” and stressing that the move directly undermined Jerusalem’s legal and historical status.
The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also condemned the decision, describing it as a “breach of international law and international legitimacy resolutions”. It said any measures or decisions aimed at changing Jerusalem’s status or legal standing were “null, illegitimate and devoid of legal effect”.
Amman stressed that the path to achieving a just and comprehensive peace lay in establishing an independent, sovereign Palestinian state along the 4 June 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital. Kuwait’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also condemned the embassy’s opening and called on the international community and the Security Council to fulfil their responsibilities and confront attempts to impose a new reality in the Palestinian territories under Israeli control.
The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Colombia’s decision to open an embassy in Jerusalem undermined efforts to achieve a just and comprehensive peace, describing it as an “attempt to impose a fait accompli affecting the legal and historical status of occupied Jerusalem”. The Egyptian ministry stressed that unilateral measures intended to change Jerusalem’s legal and historical status were null and void and had no legal effect.
It also stressed the need to respect international legitimacy resolutions and uphold the two-state solution as the only way to achieve a just and comprehensive peace, ensuring the establishment of an independent Palestinian state along the 4 June 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The Arab League expressed its “strong condemnation and denunciation” of the embassy’s opening, warning of the decision’s consequences. It said the step had been taken despite repeated warnings and contacts with the Colombian side, and that it ran counter to the international consensus on Jerusalem.
Arab League and Colombia exchange positions
The Arab League called on Colombia to reconsider and reverse the decision, and to comply with the United Nations Charter, international law and international legitimacy resolutions. In response, Colombian Foreign Minister Omar Bola Escobar said during the embassy’s opening ceremony that his country was taking a “strong step towards restoring diplomatic relations” with Israel, adding that those relations “should never have been severed”.
Escobar described Israel as a “strategic partner” and said it would henceforth be a stronger partner for Colombia. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, for his part, said the opening of Colombia’s embassy in Jerusalem “represents not only recognition that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital, but also recognition of a historical fact”.
Resumption of relations and free trade agreement
Colombia severed diplomatic relations with Israel in May 2024, during Gustavo Petro’s presidency, against the backdrop of the war in the Gaza Strip, before the new administration restored ties between the two countries. The free trade agreement between Colombia and Israel also resumed on Tuesday, after Petro had terminated it.
The vast majority of countries that maintain diplomatic relations with Israel keep their embassies in Tel Aviv, while several countries have moved their embassies to Jerusalem since the United States took the same step in 2018.
