A contentious proposal linking United States recognition of Somaliland to the potential resettlement of Palestinians from Gaza is facing widespread condemnation and warnings of regional destabilisation.
The plan, which has been discussed by Israeli officials and supported by some US Republicans, has been met with alarm by human rights advocates, analysts, and Somaliland residents. They caution that such a move would be morally reprehensible and could ignite internal conflict, empowering armed groups like al-Shabab.
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Fears of complicity and conflict
Reports have emerged that Israel is in discussions with several countries, including the self-declared republic of Somaliland, to accept Palestinians forcibly displaced from Gaza. This comes as prominent US Republicans, including Senator Ted Cruz, have advocated for US recognition of Somaliland’s independence from Somalia, a status it declared in 1991 but has never achieved internationally.
In a letter to President Donald Trump, Senator Cruz justified recognition by noting Somaliland’s support for the Abraham Accords and its efforts to strengthen ties with Israel. President Trump acknowledged that the administration was “looking into” the matter. However, the proposal has been widely criticised as a form of ethnic cleansing.
Two Democratic senators, Chris Van Hollen and Jeff Merkley, recently released a report after a trip to the region, concluding that the Israeli government “is implementing a plan to ethnically cleanse Gaza of Palestinians”. They described the notion of a “voluntary exodus” as one of the “most fraudulent, sinister, and twisted cover stories ever told”.
Residents in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, have expressed deep concern. Ahmed Dahir Saban, a 37-year-old teacher, told Al Jazeera, “The people of Palestine cannot be forced from their blessed homeland. What the Americans and Israelis are doing is ethnic cleansing, and we in Somaliland want no part of it.” He, along with other analysts, fears that complicity in such a plan would provide a “potent propaganda tool” for armed groups and risk turning a “smoulder into open flame”.
Guleid Ahmed Jama, a human rights advocate in Hargeisa, warned that any forced displacement would violate international law and “could also render Somaliland complicit in the genocide against Palestinians in Gaza”. He believes such a move could lead to diplomatic isolation and significant instability across the Horn of Africa. The government of Somaliland has not officially commented on the plan to relocate Palestinians, though it has welcomed the US consideration for its recognition.
Image: STRINGER/UK | Credit: Reuters
