Israel refuses to allow Colombian FM from entering Ramallah

The government of Bogota announced yesterday that Israel refused to allow the Colombian Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin to visit Ramallah in the occupied West Bank to meet with her Palestinian counterpart Riyad Al-Maliki, demanding she first visit Israel.

Holguin is now on a tour of the Middle East and wanted to visit the West Bank from Jordan to meet with Al-Maliki. The Columbian embassy in Israel asked for permission for her entry on November 3.

The Colombian Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying that “the Israeli authorities refused to give permission for the foreign minister’s entry and conditioned her entry to Ramallah on her visiting Israel”.

The ministry added that Israel said it would not allow Holguin to enter Ramallah “until she meets with the Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman”.

The Colombian foreign minister ultimately met with her Palestinian counterpart in Amman on November 10.

Holguin is scheduled to visit Kuwait and the UAE during her tour, which will come to an end on Sunday.