![Colombian Foreign Minister Laura Sarabia speaks during a press conference for the fourth ministerial meeting of the China-CELAC Forum, at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on May 13, 2025. [TINGSHU WANG / POOL / AFP/Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/GettyImages-2214283154.jpg?fit=920%2C613&ssl=1)
Colombia has formally appointed Jorge Iván Ospina as its ambassador to the Palestinian Authority (PA) in Ramallah, Foreign Minister Laura Sarabia announced on Monday.
Speaking during a ceremony held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bogotá, Sarabia confirmed that Ospina has officially begun his diplomatic duties in Palestine.
Commenting on the ongoing Israeli military campaign in Gaza, the minister said: “Silence in the face of genocide in Gaza cannot be an option. Our commitment to global peace and the defence of historically oppressed peoples will remain firm.”
She added: “We cannot remain indifferent to the suffering of Palestine. In Gaza, people are not only dying from bombs but also from hunger. Ospina will be Colombia’s voice in Palestine.”
Colombia officially recognised the State of Palestine on 3 August 2018, shortly before the end of President Juan Manuel Santos’ term.
On 20 October 2023, President Gustavo Petro announced plans to open a Colombian embassy in Ramallah following meetings with both the Israeli and Palestinian embassies in Bogotá.
Later, on 3 May 2024, Colombia formally severed diplomatic ties with Israel, citing continued attacks on Palestinians in Gaza as the reason.
Since 7 October 2023, Israel’s military operations in Gaza—carried out with full US support—have resulted in over 184,000 Palestinians killed or injured, the majority being women and children, with more than 11,000 still missing and hundreds of thousands displaced.
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