Colombian foreign minister asks Israeli ambassador to leave country in row over Gaza

By Laura Gamba

BOGOTA, Colombia (AA) - A day after Colombian President Gustavo Petro threatened to suspend relations with Israel due to their decision to halt security material exports to Colombia in response to his Middle East crisis stance, Foreign Minister Alvaro Leyva asked Israeli Ambassador Gali Dagan to "apologize and leave".

Using his X account, Leyva demanded respect for the president and accused Dagan of being "rude."

“The history of universal diplomacy will record as a milestone the senseless rudeness of Israel's ambassador in Colombia towards President Gustavo,” Leyva published on X. “Shame on him. He should at least apologize and leave. Intelligence is confronted with intelligence. There are States at stake.”

This statement from Leyva intensifies an already elevated state of diplomatic tension between Colombia and Israel.

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs had previously summoned Colombia's ambassador and reprimanded her for "hostile and anti-Semitic" comments by President Petro, who has refused to condemn the recent attack by Hamas on Israel, despite pleas from the Israeli government and the United States to do so.

Dagan has been responding to Petro's posts since the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Petro declared his refusal to “support genocides” and pledged humanitarian aid to Gaza, where thousands have lost their lives in retaliatory airstrikes by Israel.

Israel confirmed the decision to stop sending arms ammunition to Colombia even though a good part of the weapons used by the Colombian Armed Forces including rifles, Kfir planes, anti-aircraft batteries, tanks and radars, drones, Spike type missiles used in harpy helicopters, armored vehicles, ammunition, mortars and maritime systems, come from Israel.​​​​​​​

"If we have to suspend foreign relations with Israel, we suspend them,” Petro said. “The president of Colombia will not be insulted."