Chile’s new president, José Antonio Kast, told President Isaac Herzog that he plans to return Chile’s ambassador to Israel within weeks, in a move aimed at restoring relations after nearly two years of tensions.
Kast made the remarks during a meeting with Herzog on the sidelines of the inauguration of Costa Rica’s new president, Laura Fernández Delgado.
Chile has not had an ambassador in Israel for the past two years, following a decision by former President Gabriel Boric. Relations deteriorated sharply under Boric, a left-wing leader who was strongly critical of Israel.
During his term, Boric refused to accept the credentials of Israel’s ambassador to Chile at the time, Gil Artzyeli, in protest over the killing of a 17-year-old Palestinian who had fired at Israeli forces during an operation in the West Bank. Gabriel Zaliasnik, a former head of Chile’s Jewish community, described the incident at the time as “the most serious expression of hostility toward Israel by the president.”
Boric has previously called Israel a “murderous” state and supported a boycott of settlement products. Chile is home to the largest Palestinian community outside the Middle East, numbering more than 350,000 people.
Kast told Herzog that Chile wants to restore friendly ties with Israel and promote cooperation in agriculture, health, artificial intelligence, technology and other fields.
Kast also said he had faced criticism in Chilean media over his decision to meet with Israel’s president, but said he would focus on Israel-Chile relations and technological cooperation. He also said he was acting against terrorism and antisemitism in Chile.
After the meeting, Herzog said the two leaders discussed “important opportunities to strengthen Israel-Chile relations for the benefit of both countries.”
“The meeting was excellent,” Herzog said. “We discussed important opportunities to restore Israel-Chile relations to their previous heights, for the benefit of our two nations.”
Herzog also met with Honduran President Nasry Asfura and is expected to hold additional meetings with regional and world leaders attending the inauguration, including the outgoing and incoming presidents of Costa Rica, Spain’s king, and leaders or senior officials from Guatemala, Brazil, Honduras, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Curaçao, Aruba and the United Arab Emirates.
Costa Rica, which is hosting the visit and inauguration, is considered a close friend of Israel. Herzog’s visit has so far passed quietly, except for an anti-Israel sign hung on a main road accusing Israel of genocide.