Colombia opens embassy in West Jerusalem despite city’s disputed international status

Colombia opened an embassy in West Jerusalem on Wednesday, becoming the 10th country to establish an embassy in the contested city despite widespread international opposition to moves recognizing it as Israel’s capital, Anadolu reports.

The opening ceremony was attended by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, Colombian Foreign Minister Omar Bula Escobar and Moshe Lion, mayor of West Jerusalem, according to the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

Lion said Colombia had become the 10th country to relocate its embassy to West Jerusalem.

The move follows the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries in August 2026, after Colombia severed ties with Israel in May 2024 under its previous government.

Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and is widely regarded as one of its most sensitive issues.

READ: Colombia recognises Israeli sovereignty over occupied Golan Heights

While Israel claims the entire city as its capital, Palestinians view East Jerusalem – occupied by Israel since 1967 – as the capital of a future Palestinian state, in line with longstanding international consensus and UN resolutions.

Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1980, a move that has not been recognized internationally.

In Resolution 478, adopted in August 1980, the UN Security Council rejected Israel’s measures seeking to alter the character and status of Jerusalem and called on countries with diplomatic missions in the city to withdraw them.

Most countries maintain their embassies in Tel Aviv or surrounding areas rather than Jerusalem, reflecting the city’s contested status and the international position that its final status should be resolved through negotiations.

With Colombia’s move, the number of countries maintaining embassies in West Jerusalem rises to 10, according to the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

They include the US, Guatemala, Honduras, Kosovo, Paraguay, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Nauru and Somaliland, which is recognized as independent only by Israel.

READ: Britain’s Jerusalem mission stays open, but its work with Palestinians is in doubt