Facts

• Chile's left-wing Pres. Gabriel Borić announced on Wednesday plans to open an embassy in the Palestinian Territories, which would make Chile one of the few countries that have formal embassies in the West Bank.^[1]
• Speaking at a Christmas party with Palestinians in Santiago, Borić reportedly alleged that Israel has been illegally occupying Palestine and violating the rights and dignity of its people.^[2]
• On Thursday, Chile's foreign minister Antonia Urrejola confirmed the plan, which was commended by the Palestinian foreign ministry. Urrejola stressed that no timeline is in place yet and Chile continues to recognize both Israel and Palestine as legitimate states.^[3]
• The South American country, which opened a representative office to the Palestine Authority in 1998 and recognized Palestine as a state in 2011, supporting its membership in UNESCO, is estimated to have a Palestinian community of 300K, which is the largest outside of the Middle East.^[4]
• Chilean Palestinians, who coexist with Chile's Jewish community of about 30K people, are mainly employed in the trade and textile industries and have been successfully involved in politics.^[5]
• Bilateral ties between Chile and Israel have been allegedly harmed as Borić postponed the credentials of Israel's new ambassador to Chile in September. This followed the killing of a Palestinian teenager by Israeli forces, amid increased tensions and violence on both sides this year.^[6]