Israel–Panama relations

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Israel–Panama relations
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Israel
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Panama
Reuven Rivlin and Juan Carlos Varela, May 2018, Israel. Reuven Rivlin host Juan Carlos Varela, May 2018 (7308).jpg
Reuven Rivlin and Juan Carlos Varela, May 2018, Israel.
Elio V. Ortiz arriving at Beit HaNassi to present is credential to Zalman Shazar, 1967. Elio V. Ortiz arriving at Beit HaNassi to present his credential to Zalman Shazar D759-028.jpg
Elio V. Ortiz arriving at Beit HaNassi to present is credential to Zalman Shazar, 1967.

The State of Israel and the Republic of Panama have a cordial and friendly relationship. Panama is the only country in Central America that does not recognize a Palestinian State and has no relations with the PLO.

Contents

Panama has an embassy in Tel Aviv, and Israel has an embassy in Panama City.

Bilateral relations

Panama had voted in favor of the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine, and was one of the first countries to recognize Israel after it declared Independence on 14 May 1948. [1] Panama supported Israel when it asked to join the United Nations. A ship from Panama provided arms to Israel during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.

Israel and Panama signed a cooperation agreement in the fields of culture and tourism in 1963. [2] Until 1974 there were good relations between the countries, but after that year Panama has decided to support anti-Israeli resolutions. This change in the bilateral relations happened because Panama had disagreements with the USA about the Panama Canal, and the will of Panama to gain the support of the Third World countries, including the Arab world. During those years the relations between Israel and Panama were non-official, but they were still important to Israeli security.

In the neighborhood of Kiriat Menahem in Jerusalem, there is a street named after Panama [3] and in Panama City, there is a street named after Israel. [4]

In July 2002 Israel closed its embassy in Panama, [5] and re-opened it in September 2004. [6]

On 29 November 2012, Panama was one of 9 countries to oppose the United Nations General Assembly resolution 67/19 about the acceptance of the Palestinian Authority to the United Nations as a non-member observer country.

In April 2016, a delegation of doctors and paramedics from Israel visited Panama to train the local doctors. [7] In 2018, the President of Panama, Juan Carlos Varela visited Israel.

Security

On 19 July 1994, Alas Chiricanas Flight 901 exploded in Panama, 12 of the dead passengers were Jews. [8]

In January 2017 two Hezbollah activists were arrested in Panama, because of the suspect they were trying to harm the Israeli embassy in Panama. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the State of Palestine</span>

The history of the State of Palestine describes the creation and evolution of the State of Palestine in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foreign relations of Israel</span>

Foreign relations of Israel refers to diplomatic and trade relations between Israel and other countries around the world. Israel has diplomatic ties with 164 of the other 192 UN member states as of December 2020. Israel is a member of the United Nations (UN) and a number of other international organisations. Israel maintains full diplomatic relations with two of its Arab neighbours, Egypt and Jordan, after signing peace treaties in 1979 and 1994 respectively. In 2020, Israel signed agreements establishing diplomatic relations with four Arab League countries, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Sudan and Morocco. As of 2021, Israel had formal diplomatic relations with 168 other countries, while twenty-eight UN member states have either never established, or have broken off diplomatic relations with Israel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palestinian territories</span> Territory in the Middle East

The Palestinian territories are the two regions of the former British Mandate for Palestine that have been militarily occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967, namely: the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has referred to the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as "the Occupied Palestinian Territory", and this term was used as the legal definition by the ICJ in its advisory opinion of July 2004. The term occupied Palestinian territory was used by the United Nations and other international organizations between October 1999 and December 2012 to refer to areas controlled by the Palestinian National Authority, but from 2012, when Palestine was admitted as one of its non-member observer states, the United Nations started using exclusively the name State of Palestine. The European Union (EU) also adopts the term occupied Palestinian territory, with a parallel term Palestinian Authority territories also occasionally used.

The Arab League was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Yemen joined on 5 May 1945. Since its formation the Arab League has promoted the Palestinian Arab cause in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, including by imposing the Arab League boycott of Israel. The Arab League opposed the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine in 1947. On 15 May 1948, the then seven Arab League members coordinated an invasion of what was by then the former British Mandate, marking the start of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.

The International law bearing on issues of Arab–Israeli conflict, which became a major arena of regional and international tension since the birth of Israel in 1948, resulting in several disputes between a number of Arab countries and Israel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Israel–United States relations</span> Bilateral relations

Since the 1960s, the United States has been a very strong supporter of Israel. It has played a key role in the promotion of good relations between Israel and its neighbouring Arab states—namely Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, along with several others in the 2020 Abraham Accords—while also holding off hostility from other Middle Eastern countries such as Syria and Iran. Relations with Israel are a very important factor in the U.S. government's overall foreign policy in the Middle East, and the U.S. Congress has likewise placed considerable importance on the maintenance of a close and supportive relationship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Status of Jerusalem</span> Legal and diplomatic status

The status of Jerusalem is disputed in both international law and diplomatic practice, with both the Israelis and Palestinians claiming Jerusalem as their capital city. The dispute has been described as "one of the most intractable issues in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict", with conflicting claims to sovereignty over the city or parts of it, and access to its holy sites. The main dispute revolves around the legal status of East Jerusalem and especially the Old City of Jerusalem, while broader agreement exists regarding future Israeli presence in West Jerusalem in accordance with Israel's internationally recognised borders.

Corpus separatum was the internationalization proposal for Jerusalem and its surrounding area as part of the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine. It was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly with a two-thirds majority in November 1947. According to the Partition Plan, the city of Jerusalem would be brought under international governance, conferring it a special status due to its shared importance for the Abrahamic religions. The corpus separatum was one of the main issues of the Lausanne Conference of 1949, besides the borders of Israel and the question of the Palestinian right of return.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerusalem Embassy Act</span> United States law

The Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 is a public law of the United States passed by the 104th Congress on October 23, 1995. The proposed law was adopted by the Senate (93–5), and the House (374–37). The Act became law without a presidential signature on November 8, 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borders of Israel</span> Political boundaries between Israel and neighboring states

The modern borders of Israel exist as the result both of past wars and of diplomatic agreements between the State of Israel and its neighbours as well as colonial powers. Only two of Israel's five total potential land borders are internationally recognized and uncontested, while the other three remain disputed; the majority of its border disputes are rooted in territorial changes that came about as a result of the 1967 Arab–Israeli War, which saw Israel occupy large swathes of territory from its rivals. Israel's two formally recognized and confirmed borders exist with Egypt and Jordan since the 1979 Egypt–Israel peace treaty and the 1994 Israel–Jordan peace treaty, while its borders with Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories remain internationally recognized as contested.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colombia–Israel relations</span> Bilateral relations

Colombia–Israel relations are the diplomatic relations between Colombia and Israel which were officially established in the mid-1950s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy See–Palestine relations</span> Bilateral relations

The Holy See and the State of Palestine established formal diplomatic relations in 2015, through the mutual signing of the Comprehensive Agreement between the Holy See and the State of Palestine. In 2017, a Palestinian embassy to the Holy See was opened.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pakistan–Palestine relations</span> Bilateral relations

Pakistan–Palestine relations refer to the bilateral relations between Pakistan and Palestine. The Palestinian Authority established an embassy in Islamabad on 31 January 2017. Pakistan remains a staunch supporter of the proposal for the creation of an independent Palestinian state, and in line with its pro-Palestinian doctrine, does not recognize the State of Israel. However, the former President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, stated that Pakistan will recognize Israel's sovereignty if the latter withdraws its forces from the Israeli-occupied territories and allows an independent Palestinian state to be established within the Green Line that served as the international border between Israel and the Palestinian territories from the First Arab–Israeli War of 1948 to the Third Arab–Israeli War of 1967. Pakistan frequently provides various forms of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian Authority.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Czech Republic–Israel relations</span> Bilateral relations

Relations between Israel and the Czech Republic, and its predecessor state Czechoslovakia, have varied widely over time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">China–Palestine relations</span> Bilateral relations

China–Palestine relations, also referred to as Sino–Palestinian relations, encompasses the long bilateral relationship between China and Palestine dating back from the early years of the Cold War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palestine–United States relations</span> Bilateral relations

Political relations between the State of Palestine and the United States have been complex and strained since the 1960s. While the U.S. does not recognize the State of Palestine, it recognizes the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the legitimate representative entity for the Palestinian people; following the Oslo Accords, it recognized the Palestinian National Authority as the legitimate Palestinian government of the Palestinian territories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palestine–Serbia relations</span> Bilateral relations

The Palestinian–Serbian relations are bilateral relations between the State of Palestine and the Republic of Serbia. Relations between Serbia and Palestine have been very close and friendly. Even though Serbia had reestablished relations with Israel in 1991, its relations with Palestine still remain excellent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International recognition of Israel</span> Recognition among the 193 UN member states

The State of Israel was formally established by the Israeli Declaration of Independence on 14 May 1948, and was admitted to the United Nations (UN) as a full member state on 11 May 1949. As of December 2020, it has received diplomatic recognition from 165 of the 193 total UN member states, and also maintains bilateral ties with all of the Permanent Five. 28 member states have either never recognized Israel or have withdrawn their recognition; others have severed diplomatic relations without explicitly withdrawing their recognition. Additionally, many non-recognizing countries have challenged Israel's existence — predominantly those in the Muslim world — due to significant animosity stemming from the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and the Arab–Israeli conflict.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International recognition of the State of Palestine</span> Overview of states recognizing Palestine

International recognition of the State of Palestine has been the objective of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) since the Palestinian Declaration of Independence formally established the de jure sovereign state on 15 November 1988 in Algiers, Algeria, at an extraordinary session in-exile of the Palestinian National Council. The declaration was promptly acknowledged by a range of countries, and by the end of the year, the proclaimed Palestinian state was recognized by over 78 countries. As of 31 July 2019, 138 of the 193 United Nations (UN) member states and two non-member states have recognized it. Palestine also has been a non-member observer state of the UN General Assembly since the passing of United Nations General Assembly resolution 67/19 in November 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palestine–Spain relations</span> Bilateral relations

Palestine–Spain relations are the bilateral and diplomatic relations between these two countries. Palestine has an embassy in Madrid. Spain has a consulate general in East Jerusalem that serves the Palestinian delegation.

References

  1. פנמה קוסטריקה הכירו בישראל, HaBoker, 20 June 1948
  2. הסכם תרבות ישראל-פנמה, Davar, 4 October 1963
  3. Municipality of Jerusalem, רחוב פנמה
  4. Google maps, Via Israel, Panama City
  5. Diana Behor, משרד החוץ יסגור 8 נציגויות, Ynet, 22 July 2002
  6. Diana Behor-Nir, ישראל פותחת מחדש שגרירויות בקרואטיה ובפנמה
  7. United Hatzalah of Israel, Israel EMS team heads to Panama to help train paramedics for Mass Casualty Incident, 21 April 2016
  8. Bomb caused plane crash, Panama official says, The New York Times, 21 July 1994
  9. פעילי חזבאללה נעצרו בחשד שתכננו לפגוע בשגרירות ישראל בפנמה, Maariv Online, 8 June 2017