Israel, Bolivia restore diplomatic ties after decade-long estrangement

Israel and Bolivia have officially restored diplomatic ties, concluding over ten years of estrangement, the Israeli Foreign Ministry announced.

The agreement was signed in Washington by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and his Bolivian counterpart, Fernando Aramayo, with Bolivia’s Finance and Economy Minister José Gabriel Espinosa also in attendance, Caliber.Az reports, citing The Jerusalem Post.

“We’re continuing to work,” Gideon Sa’ar said in a statement announcing the restoration of diplomatic relations.

Bolivia first cut diplomatic ties to Israel in 2009, under then-President Evo Morales, condemning Israel’s 2008–09 military operation in Gaza as a grave attack on humanity.

In 2019, after Morales’s resignation and during a transitional government under Jeanine Áñez, Bolivia restored relations with Israel.

However, under the presidency of Luis Arce, Bolivia again severed ties with Israel — formally cutting diplomatic relations on October 31, 2023 — in response to Israel’s military actions in Gaza following the Hamas-led October 7 attack.

The repeated rupture and restoration of ties over the years reflect how Israel–Bolivia relations have been deeply influenced by Bolivian domestic politics and foreign‑policy shifts tied to different governments.

By Jeyhun Aghazada