Colombia to reopen its embassy in Israel after previous government cut ties, with new mission to be headquartered in Jerusalem.By World Israel News StaffColombian President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella has confirmed that his incoming government will open an embassy in Jerusalem and abandon plans for a diplomatic mission to the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, reversing the Israel policy pursued by outgoing President Gustavo Petro.De la Espriella announced the decisions Sunday as part of a broader overhaul of Colombia’s diplomatic presence abroad. He is due to take office on August 7.The announcement confirmed an agreement reached earlier in July between Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Colombia’s incoming foreign minister, Omar Bula Escobar, during a meeting in Washington.Sa’ar said the two sides had drawn up “a detailed roadmap for the full and immediate restoration of diplomatic and economic relations” following De la Espriella’s inauguration.Under the emerging agreement, Colombia and Israel are expected to exchange ambassadors, restore full diplomatic and economic ties and eliminate visa requirements for each other’s citizens. Colombia’s embassy, which previously operated in Tel Aviv before relations were severed, will reopen in Jerusalem.“Colombia will open its embassy in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel,” Sa’ar said following the Washington meeting, adding that Israel’s Foreign Ministry would assist with the move.De la Espriella’s incoming government will also cancel Petro’s plan to establish an embassy in Ramallah. Petro’s administration announced the proposed mission in 2023 and appointed an ambassador, but the embassy was never formally opened.The two decisions represent a sharp shift from Petro’s policies toward Israel.Petro, Colombia’s first left-wing president, severed diplomatic relations with Israel in May 2024 over Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The move followed months of increasingly hostile exchanges between Petro and Israeli officials and ended a longstanding security and commercial partnership between the two countries.Colombia had previously been one of Israel’s closest partners in Latin America, purchasing Israeli military equipment and cooperating on defense, intelligence and counterterrorism. Under Petro, Colombia also imposed restrictions on coal exports to Israel and moved to support South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.De la Espriella pledged during the presidential campaign to “renew a strategic alliance with the State of Israel” and to “defend the Judeo-Christian principles that form the foundation of Western civilization.”His government is expected to prioritize renewed cooperation with Israel in security, technology, trade and agriculture. During the campaign, De la Espriella said Colombia needed access to advanced weapons, drones and artificial intelligence technology from countries including Israel and the US.The president-elect’s confirmation of the Jerusalem embassy came as part of a plan to close 14 Colombian embassies and 15 consulates as he seeks to reduce government spending and restructure the foreign service.The embassies slated for closure include missions in Algeria, Azerbaijan, Barbados, Cuba, the Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Ghana, Haiti, Hungary, Malaysia, Nicaragua, Romania, Senegal and South Africa. Most of those countries will continue to be covered by Colombian ambassadors based elsewhere, while De la Espriella plans to break relations entirely with Cuba and Nicaragua.“Colombia needs diplomacy that is modern, efficient and at the service of national interests, not politicking and bureaucracy,” De la Espriella said.The incoming government also plans to combine Colombia’s separate representations to France and UNESCO, as well as its missions to Italy and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. At the same time, it intends to open a new embassy in Nigeria.Officials from Petro’s outgoing government criticized the closures, arguing that they would produce limited savings while weakening Colombia’s ties with Africa and other developing regions.Mauricio Jaramillo Jassir, Colombia’s outgoing deputy foreign minister for multilateral affairs, called the wider restructuring “a demagogic decision” and said there was no technical basis for many of the closures.Sa’ar welcomed the planned restoration of ties, declaring that Colombia had once been among Israel’s closest friends and that the relationship would return “stronger than ever.”The post Colombia’s next president vows to open Jerusalem embassy, scraps plans for Palestinian embassy appeared first on World Israel News.