Mogadishu (Somalia Today) – Saudi Arabia and 14 other Arab and Muslim countries on Sunday condemned Somaliland’s plan to open a purported embassy in Jerusalem, calling the move illegal and reaffirming support for Somalia’s sovereignty.
In a joint statement issued by the Saudi foreign ministry, the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, Türkiye, Pakistan, Indonesia, Djibouti, Somalia, Palestine, Oman, Sudan, Yemen, Lebanon and Mauritania said they rejected the step “in the strongest terms”.
The ministers described Somaliland as the “so-called Somaliland” region and said its move to open a purported “embassy” in occupied Jerusalem was “illegal and unacceptable”.
They said the decision constituted “a flagrant violation of international law and relevant international resolutions” and “a direct infringement on the legal and historical status of occupied Jerusalem”.
The statement came days after Somaliland officials said the breakaway region in northwestern Somalia would open an embassy in Jerusalem, while Israel was expected to open a mission in Hargeisa, Somaliland’s capital.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar welcomed the plan, describing it as “another significant step” in strengthening ties with Somaliland. He said Somaliland’s mission would become the eighth embassy in Jerusalem.
Jerusalem status
Most countries keep their embassies in Tel Aviv because Jerusalem’s status remains one of the most sensitive issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israel considers the whole city its capital, while Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state.
The Saudi-led statement said East Jerusalem had been occupied Palestinian territory since 1967, when Israel captured the eastern part of the city, along with the West Bank and Gaza Strip, during the Arab-Israeli war.
The ministers said any attempt to alter the city’s legal or historical status was “null and void and without legal effect”.
They also reaffirmed their “categorical rejection” of unilateral measures aimed at “entrenching an illegal reality in occupied Jerusalem” or giving legitimacy to any arrangements that violate international law and relevant United Nations resolutions.
The United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 478 in 1980 after Israel passed a law declaring Jerusalem its “complete and united” capital.
The resolution said measures seeking to alter the city’s character and status were invalid and called on states to withdraw diplomatic missions from Jerusalem.
Only a small number of countries have opened embassies in Jerusalem, most notably the United States, which moved its embassy there in 2018 under then-President Donald Trump.
Somalia sovereignty
The ministers also used the statement to back Somalia’s territorial integrity, adding a second layer to the dispute.
They expressed “full support for the unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Somalia” and rejected “any unilateral sovereignty”.
Somalia considers Somaliland part of its territory and has repeatedly rejected any foreign engagement with Hargeisa that could be interpreted as recognition.
Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 after the collapse of the Siad Barre government. It has since developed its own political institutions, currency and security forces, and has held several elections.
But no United Nations member state has formally recognised Somaliland as an independent country. Somalia, the African Union and the Arab League have long opposed recognition, arguing that it would violate Somalia’s sovereignty and risk encouraging separatist claims elsewhere.
Somaliland leaders argue that the territory had a distinct colonial history as a former British protectorate and briefly gained independence in 1960 before uniting with the former Italian-administered Somalia.
They also point to relative stability in the region, compared with years of conflict in southern and central Somalia, as a reason for international recognition.
Wider backlash
The Jerusalem embassy plan has triggered a wider backlash from Arab and Muslim states, which see it as both a challenge to Somalia’s sovereignty and an attempt to legitimise Israel’s claim to Jerusalem.
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation also condemned reports of Somaliland’s planned embassy, saying the move violated international law and defied the international community’s position on Jerusalem.
The OIC accused Israel of trying to gain support from “internationally unrecognised entities” to bolster its claims over the city.
For Somalia, the dispute has turned Somaliland’s search for recognition into a broader diplomatic confrontation involving Israel, Jerusalem and the Red Sea.
Somalia has already faced diplomatic pressure over foreign dealings with Somaliland, including Ethiopia’s disputed 2024 memorandum of understanding with Hargeisa, which Mogadishu said violated its sovereignty.
That deal, which involved possible Ethiopian access to the Red Sea, sparked a regional crisis and pushed Somalia to seek stronger backing from Arab and Muslim allies.
The latest statement shows that those countries are again lining up behind Mogadishu, this time over both Somalia’s territorial integrity and the status of Jerusalem.
