Colombia opens embassy in occupied Jerusalem
Colombia announced the official opening of its embassy in occupied Jerusalem, becoming the tenth country to take this step, which violates international law. The decision comes amid deepening ties between Israel and Colombia after the right-wing Abelardo de la Espriella came to power in Bogotá, succeeding former President Gustavo Petro, who rejected the Israeli genocide war on Gaza and severed diplomatic relations in 2024.
Colombia announced the official opening of its embassy in occupied Jerusalem on Wednesday, becoming the tenth country to open an embassy in the city or move its embassy there, in a step that violates international law. The Colombian embassy is located in the 'Salameh' building, named after Palestinian businessman Constantine Salameh, who built the structure in the 1920s. This event comes amid deepening ties between Israel and Colombia after the right-wing Abelardo de la Espriella came to power in Bogotá, succeeding former President Gustavo Petro. Petro had threatened Israel with severing diplomatic relations if it did not comply with the UN ceasefire resolution, and then actually cut ties in 2024 against the backdrop of the war in Gaza, which the article describes as 'the Israeli genocide war.' In February 2026, Petro said he survived an assassination attempt, warning of the risk of an American invasion. Current President de la Espriella is known as a close ally of US President Donald Trump, who moved the US embassy to Jerusalem in 2018. His government also announced recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Syrian Golan in August last year, a decision that received widespread Israeli encouragement and welcome.