Colombia takes a new measure against Israel announcing to open an embassy in Ramallah
Colombia, whose President Gustavo Petro considers Israel’s war in Gaza a genocide, announced Wednesday that it would open an embassy in Ramallah in the Palestinian territories.
Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Murillo told reporters that President Petro, a fierce critic of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, had instructed “the opening of an embassy for Colombia in Ramallah” in the West Bank.
The announcement came on the same day that Ireland, Norway and Spain announced their recognition of a Palestinian state, more than seven months after the bloody war in Gaza.
The war erupted after a Hamas offensive on Israel that killed more than 1,170 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
During the attack, 252 people were kidnapped, 124 of whom are still being held in the Gaza Strip, including 37 who died, according to the Israeli military.
Israel, which has vowed to eliminate Hamas, is responding with devastating bombardment followed by ground operations in the Gaza Strip, killing 35,709 people, most of them civilians, including 62 in the past 24 hours, the Hamas Health Ministry said Wednesday.
Colombia severed ties with Israel after Colombian President Netanyahu called him a “perpetrator of genocide”.
Earlier this month, Pietro called on the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant for Netanyahu.
