Colombia Opens Jerusalem Embassy, Withdraws from Hague Group

Colombia inaugurated its embassy in Jerusalem on October 14, 2026, becoming the tenth country to do so. The move represents a significant reversal of policy under new President Abelardo de la Espriella, who took office in August after his predecessor Gustavo Petro had severed diplomatic ties with Israel in 2024 over the war in Gaza. Colombian Foreign Minister Omar Bula Escobar announced the country's withdrawal from the Hague Group, a coalition of nations pursuing diplomatic, legal and economic measures against Israel, describing the restoration of relations as a "historic event" that should never have been broken.

The embassy opening ceremony was attended by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Colombian Ambassador Tania Gilinski. Bula Escobar delivered an emotional speech at a reception following the inauguration, stating: "I'm almost in tears at this event marking the restoration of relations with Israel" and condemning the October 7 Hamas attack as "a barbaric attack carried out by despicable murderers." He also announced that Colombia and Israel had formally reinstated their free trade agreement on October 13, after Petro had terminated it in 2025 when Israel detained two Colombian nationals following the interception of a Gaza-bound flotilla.

The decision drew swift condemnation from Palestinian officials. The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the move "an infringement on the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people" and urged Colombia to reverse the decision, asserting that measures aimed at changing Jerusalem's legal status are "null and void" under international law. Jordan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs also criticized the embassy opening as "a violation of international law and relevant international resolutions." The status of Jerusalem remains contested: Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1967 and declared the entire city its "eternal and indivisible capital" in 1980; the Palestinian Authority views East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state; and the UN Security Council declared Israel's 1980 annexation "null and void" in Resolution 478.

Colombia joins a small number of countries that have relocated embassies to Jerusalem since the United States moved its embassy there in 2018. Other countries with embassies in the city include Guatemala, Honduras, Paraguay, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Nauru, and Kosovo and Somaliland (which are not UN member states). Most countries maintain their embassies in Tel Aviv, citing the need to resolve Jerusalem's status through Israeli-Palestinian negotiations before establishing formal diplomatic presence in the contested city.