Colombia notifies Israel of severance of diplomatic relations

The Colombian Foreign Ministry officially notified Israel of the severance of diplomatic relations. “The note on the government’s decision to sever diplomatic relations with the State of Israel as of today was officially delivered to the Israeli Ambassador to Colombia,” the diplomatic service said in a statement on the social network X.

The Israeli Ambassador was also informed that the procedure and timing of the departure of Colombian diplomats will be agreed upon later.

In a message from the Colombian Foreign Ministry notedthat the work of the consulates of the two countries in Tel Aviv and Bogota will continue.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced on May 1 that Bogota intends to sever relations with Israel. He cited Israeli actions in the Gaza Strip as the reason for the decision. In response, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote that Petro decided to side with those who “burned babies, killed children, raped women and kidnapped innocent civilians.”

Petro has repeatedly sharply criticized Israel’s military actions in the Gaza Strip, calling them genocide. In February this year, Colombia suspended arms purchases from Israel.

• On October 7, 2023, Israel was attacked by the radical Islamist group Hamas, designated terrorist by the United States and the EU. Its participants killed more than 1,200 people and took about 250 hostage. In response to the attack, Israel launched a military operation in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip to “destroy Hamas.” According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, Israeli shelling has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, mostly women and children. There is no independent confirmation of these data.