Colombia’s president-elect, Abelardo de la Espriella, has announced that his country will withdraw its intervention in South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, the Foreign Ministry says.
The announcement comes after Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar met yesterday with Colombia’s incoming foreign minister Omar Bola Escobar.
“Colombia will return to a responsible position in the international arena, including within UN bodies, and will withdraw its involvement in the case brought by South Africa against Israel at the International Court of Justice in The Hague,” the president-elect’s office says, according to the Foreign Ministry.
Since late 2023, the ICJ has been considering whether Israel’s military operation in Gaza, launched in response to the Hamas-led onslaught of October 7, 2023, amounts to genocide under a treaty drawn up after World War II.
During his meeting with Sa’ar, Escobar also said that his country will open an embassy in Jerusalem, restore full diplomatic relations between the two nations and remove visa requirements.
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