Colombian president orders embassy opening in PA capital Ramallah after severing ties with Israel

The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, has decided to open an embassy in the Palestinian Authority administrative capital of Ramallah, according to an announcement by Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo on Thursday.

“President Petro has given the order that we open the Colombian embassy in Ramallah, the representation of Colombia in Ramallah, that is the next step we are going to take,” Murillo told media representatives.

Ramallah is located in biblical Samaria, internationally known as the West Bank, and is located north of Israel’s capital Jerusalem.

Murillo's announcement came shortly after Norway, Ireland and Spain announced their decision to recognize “Palestine” as an independent state beginning next Tuesday, May 28.

The Iranian-backed terrorist organization Hamas praised the three European countries for the diplomatic move while Israel criticized the decision as a "reward" for Hamas and terrorism.

Petro, a vocal critic of the Jewish state, threatened to cut diplomatic ties with Israel in March if the IDF did not end its defensive war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

“If Israel does not comply with the United Nations Ceasefire resolution, we will break off diplomatic relations with Israel,” Petro stated.

At the time, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz blasted the Colombian leader for siding with Hamas terrorists and ignoring the unprecedented atrocities committed against thousands of Israeli civilians, including the deaths of at least 1,200.

“The support of the president of Colombia @petrogustavo to the Hamas murderers who massacred and committed atrocious sexual crimes against babies, women and adults is a shame for the Colombian people. Israel will continue to protect its citizens and will not give in to any pressure or threats,” Katz wrote on 𝕏.

During May Day marches in the Colombian capital of Bogota earlier this month, Petro announced that Colombia would sever diplomatic relations with the State of Israel. The Colombian leader justified his decision by accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of committing “genocide” in Gaza without presenting any credible evidence.

"Here in front of you, the government of change, of the president of the republic announces that tomorrow we will break diplomatic relations with the state of Israel ... for having a government, for having a [prime minister] who is genocidal,” Petro stated, referring to prime minister Netanyahu.

On May 3, Colombia closed its embassy in Tel Aviv. It is the second South American country to cut ties with Israel since the war began on Oct. 7.

In late October, the far-left Bolivian government announced it would sever ties with Israel due to the Hamas-initiated war in Gaza.

“Bolivia decided to break diplomatic relations with the State of Israel in repudiation and condemnation of the aggressive and disproportionate Israeli military offensive taking place in the Gaza Strip,” Bolivian Deputy Foreign Minister Freddy Mamani said in an announcement. The Israeli Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem condemned Bolivia and accused it of siding with the terrorist militia Hamas and ignoring the unprecedented crimes committed against Israeli civilians.

Chile and Honduras have also recalled their ambassadors to Israel but have so far not severed diplomatic ties with Jerusalem.

By contrast, Argentinian President Javier Milei has emerged as a strong supporter of Israel.

In February, just moments after exiting the plane and stepping on Israeli ground, Milei declared he would move his country's embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.