Mogadishu – Somalia’s defense minister announced on Sunday that authorities possess “confirmed information” about an Israeli initiative to forcibly move Palestinians from Gaza to Somali soil, affirming that the capital would not allow such a transfer.
Ahmed Mohamed Fiqi, the defense minister, informed Al Jazeera Mubasher that the federal administration “will not remain passive” if its sovereignty is undermined. He characterized the purported plan as an immediate danger to the country’s territorial unity and described Israel’s acknowledgment of the secessionist Somaliland region as a “grave violation.”
The minister’s statements highlight an intensifying diplomatic situation in the Horn of Africa region. Following Somaliland’s self-proclaimed independence in 1991, Mogadishu has consistently insisted that the area remains an inseparable component of Somalia. The federal authorities now perceive Israel’s recent diplomatic shift toward Hargeisa as part of a larger strategy to enable population relocations and secure a strategic position along the Gulf of Aden.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and other senior leaders have previously denounced the action, asserting it connects to regional displacement programs. The government is actively seeking diplomatic backing from African and Arab counterparts to protect Somalia’s territorial unity, with numerous regional neighbors voicing apprehension that acknowledging a secessionist entity might destabilize the Red Sea passage.
Although Israeli authorities have not officially acknowledged any proposal to resettle Palestinians in Somalia, the allegations have already provoked significant opposition from the African Union and the Arab League, both organizations having restated their endorsement of Somalia’s 1960 boundaries.
