Hargeisa (Somalia Today) — Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi is expected to travel to Israel next week for a visit that would include the opening of a Somaliland embassy in Jerusalem, Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported.
The visit is expected to take place between June 15 and 17, with Abdullahi scheduled to meet Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to the report.
Yedioth said the opening of the embassy in Jerusalem would be the centrepiece of the visit.
The newspaper reported that Abdullahi had planned to visit Israel twice before, but both trips were postponed for different reasons.
There was no immediate official confirmation from Somaliland or Israel.
The reported visit follows Israel’s recognition of Somaliland last December, when the two sides established diplomatic relations, making Israel the first country to recognise Somaliland as an independent state.
Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 after the collapse of Somalia’s central government. It has its own government, security forces, currency and electoral system.
However, Somalia’s federal government and most of the international community continue to regard Somaliland as part of Somalia.
Mogadishu has repeatedly warned foreign governments against engaging Hargeisa in ways that suggest recognition of Somaliland as a separate state.
Somalia opposition
Somalia rejected Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, calling it a violation of Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has also condemned Somaliland’s plan to open an embassy in Jerusalem, calling the move a “great misfortune” and “a disgrace”.
“It is in no way possible today that a part of our country goes to Israel,” Mohamud said in remarks after Eid al-Adha prayers in Mogadishu last month.
Mohamud said Somalia would not accept any move by a Somali territory to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
He said the issue went beyond politics because of Jerusalem’s religious and historical importance to Muslims.
Somalia does not recognise Israel. Successive governments in Mogadishu have also backed Palestinian statehood with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The federal government has said no country has the right to establish official relations with Somaliland without the approval of Mogadishu.
Somalia has also said it will continue to defend its internationally recognised borders through diplomatic, political and legal channels.
Somali officials have warned that recognising Somaliland could undermine African Union principles on colonial-era borders and encourage separatist movements elsewhere on the continent.
The African Union and most foreign governments continue to support Somalia’s territorial integrity.
Somaliland has sought international recognition since 1991, arguing that it has maintained functioning institutions and relative stability.
Jerusalem embassy
The reported embassy opening would place Somaliland’s diplomatic mission in Jerusalem.
Israel regards Jerusalem as its capital, while Palestinians seek East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state.
Most countries maintain their embassies in Tel Aviv because the status of Jerusalem remains one of the central issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Only a limited number of countries have opened embassies in Jerusalem.
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation said it had “grave concern and strong condemnation” over media reports that Somaliland intended to open an embassy in what it called “occupied Al-Quds (Jerusalem)”.
The OIC said the reported plan was in “flagrant defiance of the will of the entire international community” and a violation of the UN Charter and relevant UN resolutions.
It said Israel had “no sovereignty over East Al-Quds (Jerusalem), the capital of the State of Palestine,” and said any measures aimed at changing the city’s political, demographic or geographical status were “null and void under international law”.
The OIC also said it stood in “full and absolute solidarity” with Somalia and backed its “national sovereignty, territorial integrity and regional security”.
Somaliland lies along the Gulf of Aden, near the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab strait, one of the world’s most important maritime routes.
Its port city of Berbera has attracted regional and international interest because of its location.
The reported visit would be Abdullahi’s first to Israel since the two sides established diplomatic relations last December.
