Colombian President Gustavo Petro orders the opening of an embassy in Palestinian territory
Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo announced on Wednesday that Colombian President Gustavo Petro had ordered the opening of an embassy for his country in the Palestinian city of Ramallah.
Murillo told reporters, “This step is part of the foreign policy goal that Petro is promoting with other governments to recognize the Palestinian state.
He added: The previous governments of Colombia recognized Palestine as a state, in the government of President (Juan Manuel) Santos, and President Petro gave instructions that we open the Colombian embassy in Ramallah, and this is the next step that we will take.
This announcement came hours after Spain, Ireland, and Norway announced that they would recognize the Palestinian state and weeks after Petro announced that Colombia would sever diplomatic relations with Israel due to its war in Gaza.
The war broke out following a Hamas attack on Israel, which killed more than 1,170 people, most of them civilians, according to an Agence France-Presse count based on official Israeli figures.
Israel, which pledged to eliminate Hamas, responded with devastating bombing followed by ground operations in the Gaza Strip, causing the deaths of 35,709 people, most of them civilians, including 62 in the past 24 hours, according to what the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced.
Colombia severed its relations with Israel after Colombian President Netanyahu described him as a “perpetrator of genocide.” Petro called the International Criminal Court at the beginning of this month to issue an arrest warrant against Netanyahu.
Murillo reiterated that Colombia condemns Hamas’ attacks but rejects the Israeli response. He also said that the intention to open an embassy in Ramallah is not a measure against Israel but rather in favour of the existence of two states.
He said, More and more countries will recognize Palestine, and this is not against Israel, its people, or the Jews. Instead, the United Nations, in the context of the Oslo Accords, agreed to find a two-state solution. Therefore, if you need two states, it is clear that you need to recognize Palestine.
It is still being determined when a Colombian embassy will be opened in Ramallah and what steps must be taken to do so. The network continued that it had contacted the Israeli Embassy in Colombia for comment on the matter.
