Colombia to open embassy in Palestine

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has been very vocal in his condemnation of Israel’s war on Gaza. In one of his recent statements, after a meeting with both the ambassadors of Palestine and Israel, he showed his solidarity with the children from both sides and pledged to open an Embassy in Ramallah, Palestine.

“I have expressed my position to achieve an international peace conference that opens the way for two independent and free states. I reiterated my solidarity with Israeli and Palestinian children, who must and have the right to live in peace,” he said in a post on X (former Twitter).

Me he entrevistado hoy con el embajador de Israel y el embajador de Palestina.

He expresado.mi posición de conseguir una conferencia internacional de paz que abra el camino para dos estados independientes y libres.

He expresado mi solidaridad con la niñez israelí y palestina… pic.twitter.com/GlnWyU93EK

— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) October 19, 2023

The Colombian president further pledged, “We will send a plane with humanitarian aid to the outskirts of Gaza waiting for a humanitarian corridor to open. Colombia will open its embassy in Ramallah, Palestine.”

It is crucial in the context of the ongoing conflict as Petro has refused to condemn Hamas’ attack on Israel and compared Israel’s actions to those of Nazi Germany. In response to this, the country bore the cost in the form of suspension of defence imports from Israel — their biggest supplier of warplanes, surveillance equipment, and assault rifles since the 1990s.