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16 Nov, 2014

Israel denies Colombian foreign minister entry to Ramallah – Haaretz

Israel denied this week a request by Colombian Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin to visit Ramallah.

According to a statement by the Foreign Ministry in Bogota, Israel would only permit Holguin to visit Ramallah if she agreed to visit Jerusalem on the same visit to the region. A senior official in the Israeli Foreign Ministry confirmed the matter, stating that the directive was ordered by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.

It is highly unusual for the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem to give such a directive, and it appears that the move was made in an effort to harden its policy with regards to visits by foreign ministers to the Palestinian Authority, which are normally carried out without any difficulty.

Read the rest: In rare move, Israel denies Colombian foreign minister entry to Ramallah – Diplomacy and Defense Israel News | Haaretz.