Diplomatic Ice Age: Colombia Announces Break with Israel

In a remarkable turn of foreign policy, Colombia's President Gustavo Petro announced the termination of diplomatic relations with Israel. During a rally for Labor Day in Bogotá, he accused the Israeli government of genocide and declared that the fate of Palestine is inseparably linked with that of humanity. Petro, who positions himself as an advocate for human rights, sees supporting Palestine as a moral duty. In response to this announcement, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz expressed severe criticism of the Colombian head of state. Katz accused Petro of antisemitism and hatred via the social media platform X and condemned his positioning with the 'most inhumane monsters of history.' At the same time, he emphasized that relations between the two countries had traditionally been characterized by warmth, and that Petro's stance would not change that. In the past months, Petro had repeatedly criticized Israel's actions and equated the Israeli military with the crimes of National Socialism. This led to a tense situation in which a spokesperson for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs even threatened a halt in the export of security-related products to Colombia. Given Israel’s status as a significant military supplier to the South American country, which has been engaged in an intense fight against guerrilla groups for years, this development could have far-reaching consequences for regional security.