(Bloomberg) -- Colombian President Gustavo Petro ordered his government to open an embassy in the Palestinian administrative capital of Ramallah, the country’s foreign affairs minister said.

“This is nothing against Israel, the people of Israel, or the Jews,” Foreign Affairs Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo told reporters in Bogota. “We believe that more countries will recognize Palestine.”

The move comes after Ireland, Norway, and Spain said they would formally recognize a Palestinian state — comprising Gaza and the West Bank. Colombia recognized Palestine as a state in 2018.

Read more: Israel Recalls Ireland, Norway, Spain Envoys Over Palestine

Colombia and Israel have had acrimonious relations in recent months, with Petro describing the intervention in Gaza as “genocide” while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Petro an “antisemitic supporter of Hamas.” Both countries cut diplomatic relations earlier this month.

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