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Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry has condemned Colombia’s decision to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, stating that the step violates relevant UN resolutions and undermines the historical and legal status of the city.
In a written statement addressing the plan to relocate the Colombian mission, the ministry said the move contradicts U.N. Security Council Resolutions 476 (1980) and 478 (1980), as well as the legal principles emphasized in the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion. The ministry emphasized that East Jerusalem is an integral part of the occupied Palestinian territories.
Calling on Colombia to reverse the step, the ministry added that the establishment of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state with territorial integrity, based on the 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital, remains the only way to establish a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the region.
Colombia opened its embassy in Jerusalem on Wednesday, joining a small group of nations, including the United States.
Nearly all governments keep their embassies in Tel Aviv, reasoning that a final Israeli-Palestinian peace deal should determine Jerusalem’s status.
At the ceremony, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar signed the guest book at the Colombian mission and said, “This is an important date for the State of Israel. It’s also an important date for the city of Jerusalem.”
Colombia’s new hard-right President Abelardo de la Espriella announced the plan in July. His leftist predecessor had criticized Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, making the decision a sharp reversal. Thousands of people also took to the streets across the country on Oct. 14 in a “National Strike” against the administration.
In 2018, during his first term, President Donald Trump defied the global consensus by relocating the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. The city also hosts Israel’s legislature, prime minister, and nearly all major government institutions.
Since Trump's move, only a handful of small, U.S.-aligned countries have followed suit: Fiji, Guatemala, Honduras, Papua New Guinea, and Paraguay.
Kosovo and Somaliland, which are not member states of the United Nations, have also opened missions in Jerusalem that they regard as embassies.
Javier Milei, Argentina’s president and a vocal Israel backer from the Latin American right, has promised to move his nation’s embassy to Jerusalem.
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