The International Court of Justice (ICJ) announced, on Tuesday (22), that Colombia has officially withdrawn from the process initiated by South Africa against Israel for violations of the Convention for the Prevention and Suppression of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip.
The court based in The Hague detailed, in a statement, that the country communicated its decision on Friday (18), thus ending the declaration of intervention that it had presented on April 5, 2024.
This decision is part of a profound change in foreign policy, driven by the far-right government of President Abelardo de la Espriella, who took office almost two months ago. His administration seeks to rebuild diplomatic and strategic relations with Israel, distancing itself from the stance adopted by his predecessor, Gustavo Petro (2022-2026), which broke bilateral relations and led Colombia to support international processes against Israeli military actions in Gaza.
The Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs clarified, in a statement, that the withdrawal of this declaration does not imply that the country is abandoning the Convention against Genocide, nor does it change its status as a State Party. He further stressed that the measure does not affect the binding force of the nation’s international obligations and is in strict accordance with the constitutional authority of the head of state to conduct foreign relations.
Former president Petro harshly criticized the measure on his social networks, in which he described the decision as a “shame for Colombia” and accused the current government of going from rejecting the genocide to becoming an accomplice.
On the other hand, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Omar Bula, defended the restoration of bilateral relations before the Senate. He stated that cooperation would focus on strategic areas such as security, intelligence and cybersecurity.
Other events also marked the De la Espriella government’s rapprochement with Zionism, including the recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, taken from Syria, and the decision to transfer the Colombian diplomatic headquarters from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
The original case against Israel was brought by South Africa before the UN’s highest court in December 2023. At that time, Tel Aviv was accused of violating its obligations under the Genocide Convention due to its military offensive in the Gaza Strip.
Although the International Court of Justice has issued several provisional measures throughout the process, it has not yet made a final decision on the merits of the accusations, while Israel has categorically rejected the allegations against it.
Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli military siege of the Gaza Strip has resulted in the deaths of 73,919 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and left 174,977 injured. It destroyed 90% of the Strip’s infrastructure. It is estimated that rebuilding the Palestinian territory will cost US$70 billion.
A fragile ceasefire came into effect in October 2025. Since then, Israel has killed 1,399 Palestinians and injured 4,863 others. During that same period, the bodies of 834 dead Palestinians were recovered.
Source: www.brasildefato.com.br
