Somalia’s Defense Minister Ahmed Moalim Fiqi has accused Israel of planning to forcibly relocate Palestinians to the breakaway region of Somaliland, denouncing the alleged plan as a “serious violation” of international law.
In an interview with Al Jazeera on Saturday, Fiqi called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to withdraw diplomatic recognition of the “separatist region”, calling the move announced late last year a “direct attack” on Somalia’s sovereignty.
“Israel has long had goals and plans to divide countries – maybe before 20 years – and wants to divide the map of the Middle East and control its countries… that’s why they found this separatist group in northwest Somalia,” Fiqi told Al Jazeera.
“We have confirmed reports that Israel has a plan to transfer Palestinians and send them away [Somaliland]”, he added, without elaborating.
Fiqi’s comments came amid a global outcry over Netanyahu’s decision in December to recognize Somalilanda breakaway part of Somalia comprising the northwestern portion of what was once the British protectorate.
The move made Israel the first country in the world to recognize Somaliland as an independent state and came months after The Associated Press reported that Israeli officials had reached out to parties in Somalia, Somaliland and Sudan to discuss using their territory to forcibly relocate Palestinians amid its genocidal war in Gaza.
Somalia denounced the Israeli move, along with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud telling Al Jazeera that Somaliland had accepted three conditions from Israel: the resettlement of Palestinians, the establishment of a military base on the coast of the Gulf of Aden, and adherence to the Abraham Accords to normalize ties with Israel.
Somaliland officials have denied the deal to resettle Palestinians in Gaza and say there has been no discussion of an Israeli military base in the area.
But Fiqi reiterated on Saturday that Israel “wants to create a military base to destabilize the region” on the Bab al-Mandeb strait, which connects the Gulf of Aden to the Red Sea.
“I see it as an occupation to destabilize the area,” Fiqi added.
He also emphasized that Israel has no legal right to grant legitimacy to a region within a sovereign state.
Somaliland first declared independence from Somalia in 1991, but has failed to gain recognition from any member state of the United Nations since then.
It triggered Israel’s first worldwide announcement protests in Somalia and rapid criticism from dozens of countries and organizations including Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the African Union.
Fiqi told Al Jazeera that Israel’s move was part of a decades-long goal to control the Middle East and accused Israel of exploiting separatist movements in the region. About half of the areas formerly known as Somaliland have declared their affiliation with Somalia in the past two years, he added.
The minister praised the countries that condemned Israel and promised that Somalia would rely on all diplomatic and legal means to reject Israel’s “violation”.
He also commended the administration of United States President Donald Trump for not recognizing Somaliland.
Although the US was the only member of the 15-member UN Security Council not to condemn Israel for the December 30 recognition, said his position in Somaliland had not changed.
For its part, Somaliland’s ruling party defended its new relations with Israel after Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar traveled to Hargeisathe region’s largest city and self-declared capital, earlier this week.
Hersi Ali Haji Hassan, chairman of the ruling Waddani party, he told Al Jazeera days later, Somaliland was “unable to choose” who granted it legitimacy after decades of being rejected by the international community.
“We are in a state of necessity for official international recognition,” Hassan said. “We have no choice but to welcome any country that recognizes our right to exist.”
Hassan did not deny the prospect of a potential military base.
“We have started diplomatic relations… This topic [a military base] it has not been touched now,” he said.
When pressed on whether Somaliland would accept such a request in the future, Hassan said only to “ask the question when the time comes”, calling the line of inquiry “untimely”.
Israeli think tanks say Somaliland’s location at the gateway to the Red Sea and across the street from Yemen makes it a strategic site for operations against the Yemeni Houthi rebel group, which imposed a naval blockade on ships linked to Israel before the US-brokered Gaza ceasefire.
The Institute for National Security Studies, in a November report, said the Somaliland territory could “serve as a forward base” to monitor intelligence on the Houthis and serve “a platform for direct operations” against them.
The Houthis said that any Israeli presence would be a targeta statement said Somaliland’s former intelligence chief, Mostafa Hasan, was tantamount to a declaration of war.