Colombia Plans to Open Embassy in Jerusalem Next Week

Colombia is expected to open an embassy in Jerusalem next week, according to Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, who said the mission would be inaugurated on Wednesday.

Colombian Foreign Minister Omar Bula Escobar is expected to travel to Jerusalem on Sunday ahead of the planned opening, an official at Colombia’s Foreign Ministry told AFP.

The announcement marks a further development in relations between Colombia and Israel. President Abelardo De la Espriella campaigned on a promise to maintain close ties with Israel and, after being sworn in as president in August, restored diplomatic relations with the country.

Dispute over Jerusalem

Most countries maintain their embassies in Israel in Tel Aviv. Jerusalem is claimed as a capital by both Israelis and Palestinians, and the city’s status is not recognised by the international community as settled in Israel’s favour.

Saar announced the planned Colombian embassy during a conference in Jerusalem. “Next Wednesday, we are going to inaugurate … the Colombian embassy,” he said.

He also said that the Democratic Republic of the Congo was expected to open an embassy in Jerusalem “very soon”. Saar further suggested that Brazil could consider a similar move, but made that possibility conditional on the outcome of the country’s presidential election and the success of Flavio Bolsonaro in the first round.

Opposition in Bogota

The planned opening has faced opposition in Colombia. Protesters in Bogota rallied against the government’s policy toward Israel, including the decision to establish the embassy in Jerusalem.

Nicolas Isaza, who took part in the demonstration, said Colombia’s earlier decision to break diplomatic relations had been intended to signal that the country would not be complicit in what he described as atrocities.

“Today our government is no longer drawing a line against the atrocities being committed in Palestine,” Isaza told Al Jazeera.

Since 2018, the United States, Guatemala, Paraguay, Kosovo, Honduras, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Nauru and Somaliland have opened embassies in Jerusalem, according to the source report.