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Accepting Gazans in exchange for a significant political achievement? The subtle message from the African state

View of Hargeisa, Somaliland (Photo: Shutterstock)

In Somaliland, they do not rule out the possibility of accepting Gazan residents—this emerges from a statement received by KAN correspondent from the foreign minister of the African state, which was published this morning (Tuesday) on the program "This Morning" on KAN Reshet Bet.

Israeli and U.S. officials have reached out to three African countries—Sudan, Somalia, and Somaliland – according to reports recently published by the Associated Press (AP). The officials explored the feasibility of relocating Palestinian refugees from the Gaza Strip for resettlement in these countries.

However, officials in those states, particularly in Somalia and Sudan, showed little interest in the idea – and even opposed it. In the case of Somaliland, however, its foreign minister told Reuters that there were simply “no discussions with anyone regarding the Palestinians.” It turns out, though, that this does not necessarily mean they completely reject the idea.

Somaliland’s Foreign Minister, Abdi Rahman Dahir Adan Bakal, stated in a written message to KAN News: “The most important thing for us is to gain recognition after demonstrating to the world that we are a peaceful and democratic state, which has been independent for 33 years.”

Somaliland is a Muslim political entity that broke away from Somalia in the early 1990s and declared independence. However, since then, it has received little to no recognition from other countries, with Somalia being one of its strongest opponents to gaining international legitimacy.

Against this backdrop, it is possible that Somaliland’s foreign minister chose to convey the message he did. “We are open to discussing any issue, but we do not wish to speculate on matters that have not yet been discussed. Any country interested in engaging with us on specific issues must first establish working relations with us and open diplomatic representations in Somaliland,” he wrote.

In essence, Somaliland’s foreign minister hinted that if the U.S. administration, followed by other countries, recognized Somaliland, everything could be on the table – even though he did not explicitly mention the issue of accepting Gazan refugees.

From our conversation with him and the written statement we received, it appears that Somaliland is attempting to leverage the situation in Gaza and the Palestinian arena to achieve diplomatic gains from the United States and Israel.

Roi Kais is an Arab Affairs correspondent for Kan 11.

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