Foreign ministers from Türkiye and 18 other countries have strongly condemned Colombia’s opening of an embassy in West Jerusalem, describing the move as contrary to relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions and an obstacle to international efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace based on a two-state solution.
In a joint statement dated October 16 2026, the ministers from Türkiye, Algeria, Djibouti, Indonesia, Palestine, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Egypt, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Jordan and Yemen said they firmly rejected the opening of the Colombian embassy in the city.
The ministers reiterated that any measures or decisions intended to alter the legal or historical status of occupied Jerusalem, or to recognise the city as Israel’s capital, were null and void and had no legal effect.
They cited relevant UN Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, particularly Resolutions 476 and 478, both adopted in 1980. These resolutions reject attempts to change Jerusalem’s character or status and call on states to withdraw their diplomatic missions to Israel from the city, which forms part of the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967.
The statement called on the Colombian government to reconsider and reverse its decision, comply with its obligations under international law and refrain from measures that undermine the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.
These rights, the ministers stressed, include the right to an independent and sovereign Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
