Somalia, Somaliland say no talks on resettling Palestinians from Gaza

Somalia and its breakaway region of Somaliland have not received any proposal from the United States or Israel to resettle displaced Palestinians from Gaza, their foreign ministers said today, with Mogadishu saying it categorically rejected any such move, Reuters reports.

The Associated Press quoted US and Israeli officials as saying their governments had contacted officials from Sudan, Somalia and Somaliland to discuss using their territory for resettling Palestinians from the devastated Gaza Strip.

Sudanese officials said they rejected the proposal by the United States, and officials from Somalia and Somaliland said they were unaware of any contacts, AP reported.

Somalia’s Foreign Minister Ahmed Moalim Fiqi said his country would categorically reject “any proposal or initiative, from any party, that would undermine the Palestinian people’s right to live peacefully on their ancestral land.”

READ: US, Israel discuss settling Gazans in 3 African states, AP reports

He said Somalia’s government had not received any such proposal, adding that Mogadishu was against any plan that would involve the use of Somali territory for the resettlement of other populations.

Abdirahman Dahir Adan, Somaliland’s foreign minister, said “there are no talks with anyone regarding Palestinians”.

Unlike Somalia, which has been battling an Islamist insurgency for more than 17 years, Somaliland has mostly been at peace since declaring independence from the Mogadishu government in 1991.

But Somaliland is not recognised by any country and its government has expressed hope that US President Donald Trump will be favourable to its cause.

The White House and the US State Department did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.