Colombia became the second UN member state to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights on August 10, 2026, drawing swift condemnation from more than a dozen countries across the Middle East, Europe, and Africa.

The recognition came just days after newly inaugurated President Abelardo de la Espriella took office on August 7. In a statement released on X/Twitter, Colombia's Foreign Ministry said it recognizes Israeli control over the area as “an essential component of its national defense and its ability to protect and safeguard its citizens”.

The ministry also cited “persistent regional instability in the Middle East” and the territory's strategic importance to Israel's security.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar welcomed the decision, calling it "historic". “Israel is a small country without strategic depth. Defensible borders are essential to ensure the continued existence of the Jewish people in their historic homeland,” Sa'ar wrote on his social media accounts.

He added that he would “continue working to see more countries join the United States, under President Trump's leadership, and Colombia, under President de la Espriella's leadership, in recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan, to which Israeli law was extended 45 years ago”.

Turkey's Foreign Ministry condemned the decision on August 12, stating: “We strongly condemn the declaration issued by Colombia aimed at legitimizing the Israeli occupation of the Golan Heights, which constitute an integral part of Syria”. The ministry said such unilateral attempts “constitute a grave violation of international law, in particular Security Council Resolution 497, have no legal value”.

Iraq's Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its “strong condemnation and denunciation” of Colombia's decision, stressing that the recognition “has no legal effect”.

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry said the recognition “violates the UN Charter, particularly UN Security Council Resolution 497 of 1981,” which declared Israel's imposition of its laws over the Golan “null and void and without international legal effect”.

The kingdom reiterated that the Golan Heights are “occupied Syrian Arab territory” and that “no measures or decisions seeking to alter its legal status create any rights or legitimacy”.

Egypt's Foreign Ministry expressed “categorical rejection” of Bogota's decision and called on Israel to withdraw from the occupied Syrian territory. “All measures and decisions aimed at entrenching the Israeli occupation or legitimizing the annexation of the Golan have no legal effect and do not alter its legal status,” the ministry added.

The European Union also reaffirmed its position on August 13. “In line with international law and UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 497, the EU does not recognize Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan,” an EU spokesperson told Syria's state news agency SANA. The 27-nation bloc called on Israel to respect the demilitarized buffer zone and comply with the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement between Syria and Israel.

Syria has formally protested the recognition, sending letters to the UN secretary-general and Security Council president. According to Syrian state media, the letters conveyed Syria's “protest, condemnation and categorical rejection” of Colombia's recognition of what it described as “Israeli sovereignty” over the occupied Syrian Golan Heights. The Syrian Foreign Ministry said the Golan Heights are an “inseparable part of Syrian territory” and that Damascus would “continue to use all legitimate diplomatic and legal means to defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity and established rights”.

The United States was the first UN member state to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights in 2019 under President Donald Trump. Israel captured the strategic plateau from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and effectively annexed it in 1981. UN Security Council Resolution 497, adopted unanimously on December 17, 1981, declared Israel's annexation “null and void and without international legal effect” and demanded that Israel rescind its action.

Colombia's decision also included plans to relocate its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, reversing policies adopted under former President Gustavo Petro, who severed diplomatic relations with Israel in May 2024 in response to the war in Gaza. In July, Colombia ordered the full restoration of diplomatic relations and the immediate appointment of ambassadors.

Analysts have warned that while Colombia's recognition does not alter the territory's legal status, it could set a dangerous precedent. Samy Akil, senior adviser at The Syria Report, told Arab News: “In the long term it is significant because it sets a precedent”.

Hussein Chokr, a Beirut-based policy expert, said: “After decades of building the rules of international relations to reduce conflict and organize political life away from war and chaos, some states are now dragging us back into that very chaos”.

“Expansionist, colonial Israel is not only a threat to our region, it is a threat to the stability of the international system itself,” Chokr warned.