Colombian embassy to open in Jerusalem, Israeli FM says

What the report says

Israel said Colombia will open an embassy in Jerusalem next week, a move that would make it the latest country to place a diplomatic mission in the city claimed by both Israelis and Palestinians. The announcement came from Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, who made the comments at a conference in Jerusalem and said Israel was strengthening ties with Latin America.

An official at Colombia’s foreign ministry in Bogota told AFP that Foreign Minister Omar Bula Escobar planned to travel to Jerusalem ahead of the opening. Al Jazeera reported that Colombian President Abelardo De la Espriella, who took office in August, had campaigned on closer relations with Israel and later restored diplomatic ties after they were previously cut amid the war in Gaza.

Most countries keep their embassies in Tel Aviv because the status of Jerusalem remains disputed and is not widely recognized internationally as settled Israeli capital. Al Jazeera said the opening would place Colombia among a small but growing group of states that have established embassies in Jerusalem since 2018, including the United States, Guatemala and several others.

The report also noted opposition inside Colombia, where protesters in Bogota demonstrated against the policy shift and against renewed ties with Israel. The embassy decision underscores how Jerusalem remains a sensitive diplomatic issue and a flashpoint in wider debates over recognition, sovereignty and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.