Colombia Plans to Open Embassy in Jerusalem Amid Bogota Protests

Colombia is scheduled to open an embassy in Jerusalem next Wednesday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has announced, marking a planned shift in the country’s diplomatic presence and its relationship with Israel.

Saar made the announcement at a conference in Jerusalem, telling attendees: “Next Wednesday, we are going to inaugurate … the Colombian embassy.” The source report did not provide an exact calendar date for the planned ceremony.

An official at Colombia’s Foreign Ministry told AFP that Foreign Minister Omar Bula Escobar would travel to Jerusalem on Sunday ahead of the opening.

A change in diplomatic direction

The planned embassy follows President Abelardo De la Espriella’s campaign promise to develop close relations with Israel. Colombia also restored diplomatic ties with Israel after De la Espriella took office in August, according to the source report.

Colombia had previously severed relations with Israel over Israel’s war in Gaza. The embassy plan therefore represents a change from the earlier position, although the report does not give the date when diplomatic ties were restored.

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

Protests in Bogota

The proposed move has drawn opposition in Colombia. Protesters took to the streets of Bogota to challenge the government’s policy towards Israel, including the decision to establish the embassy in Jerusalem.

Nicolas Isaza, who participated in the protest, told Al Jazeera: “When diplomatic relations with Israel were broken off, the message was that we would not be a nation complicit in their atrocities.”

He added: “Today our government is no longer drawing a line against the atrocities being committed in Palestine.”

The comments reflect the opposition voiced at the demonstration, while the government’s decision is linked in the report to the president’s stated effort to strengthen ties with Israel.

Other possible embassy moves

Saar also said the Democratic Republic of the Congo would open an embassy in Jerusalem “very soon”. He further suggested that Brazil might consider a similar move depending on the outcome of its presidential election, describing that possibility as conditional.

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. The report described these moves as part of a small but growing list of diplomatic missions in the city.

Somaliland is recognised as an independent entity only by Israel, the report said.