(CNN) Colombian President Iván Duque is facing a diplomatic row with Israel in his first week in office after the outgoing government recognized Palestine just days before the end of its term.

The announcement was made public Wednesday, with the release of a letter to Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Malki. The letter was written on August 3 and signed by then-foreign minister María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar.

"I would like to inform you that in the name of the government of Colombia, President Juan Manuel Santos has decided to recognize Palestine as a free, independent and sovereign state in the name of Colombia," the letter said.

Duque's newly inaugurated government, which took office Tuesday, said it would review the move.

"We will analyze the implications and the content of the note with all our attention and the government will take the steps determined by international law," Foreign Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo told reporters Wednesday in Bogota.

The government of former Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos left office on Tuesday.

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