{"id":838725,"date":"2026-11-04T02:20:00","date_gmt":"2026-11-04T07:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/?p=838725"},"modified":"2026-11-04T02:20:00","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T07:20:00","slug":"somalia-calls-israels-envoy-in-hargeisa-null-and-void-as-the-arab-league-joins-condemnation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/838725","title":{"rendered":"Somalia calls Israel’s envoy in Hargeisa null and void as the Arab League joins condemnation"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Israel's<\/figure>\n

Israel’s ambassador Michael Lotem speaks at a podium, in a photo Dalsan TV shared on X on November 3, 2026 with Somalia’s statement rejecting his accreditation in Hargeisa. Photo: Dalsan TV (@DalsanTv) via X<\/em><\/p>\n

Somalia’s foreign ministry on Tuesday declared Israel’s accreditation of an ambassador in Somaliland “null and void,” while the Arab League condemned the step and supporters of Somaliland answered Mogadishu on social media.<\/p>\n

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in Mogadishu said in a statement dated November 3 that it “condemns in the strongest terms” what it called Israel’s purported accreditation of an ambassador in Hargeisa and the laying of a cornerstone for “a so called embassy on Somali territory.” It said the steps were taken without the consent of the federal government and were a flagrant violation of Somalia’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and unity, and that “Hargeisa and the Somaliland region remain an integral and inseparable part of the Federal Republic of Somalia.”<\/p>\n

The ministry argued that under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations a permanent diplomatic mission needs the consent of the sovereign state, and that “no unilateral act can circumvent that requirement.” It said the new steps added to what it called Israel’s unlawful recognition of Somaliland in December 2025, which it said had already been rejected by the African Union, IGAD, the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. “At a time of heightened insecurity in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden,” the statement said, moves that encourage fragmentation “risk deepening tensions across an already fragile region.” Somalia demanded that Israel reverse the measures and said it reserved the right to take diplomatic, political and legal action. It closed: “The unity of the Somali nation is not negotiable.”<\/p>\n

Michael Lotem presented his credentials to Somaliland’s president, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, known as Irro, in Hargeisa last week, and the two sides laid the cornerstone for an Israeli embassy, as Mereja Media reported on Monday. Israel is the only United Nations member state that recognizes Somaliland, which declared independence from Somalia in 1991, as Mereja Media has reported.<\/p>\n

Arab League Secretary General Nabil Fahmy also condemned the accreditation and the embassy ceremony in a statement on Monday, calling them a flagrant violation of Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, according to the league and the Qatar News Agency. The league said in a statement on Monday that the steps were part of efforts it had already rejected to build ties with Somaliland in order to divide Somalia and expand Israel’s military and political influence on the Gulf of Aden, and it said they had no legal effect.<\/p>\n

In Somaliland, the answer to Mogadishu came quickly on social media. Abdifatah Mohamed (@garawle) replied to the ministry’s post: “What do you mean by ‘null and void’? Legally, you have no say the decision of other state to recognise Somaliland. Its up to the sending state.” He added that in practice Mogadishu could do nothing about it except panic each time another recognition came. An account writing as Geelle (@MyInfo94219942), whose profile describes Somaliland as an independent state since June 26, 1960, told the ministry that its statement was itself null and void.<\/p>\n

Not all Somali voices were satisfied with Mogadishu either. Malin Irab (@MaalinIrab), who writes on Somali politics, shared the statement and complained that the response inside Somaliland, which he called Northwest Somalia, had been weak, with some clerics speaking out once and nobody protesting in the streets. “One statement, then silence, is not resistance,” he wrote. In Israel, the news was picked up in Hebrew by accounts such as Ram Eli Brandts (@RamEliBrandts), who summarized the ministry’s statement and noted that Israel is the only UN member to have recognized Somaliland.<\/p>\n

Somaliland officials did not publicly reply to Mogadishu’s statement on Tuesday. The government in Hargeisa spent the day marking the 33rd anniversary of the founding of its police force, and the presidency said President Irro attended the ceremony and issued a presidential decree on the occasion. Somaliland’s Ministry of Resettlement and Humanitarian Affairs also said a small boat carrying 20 people fleeing the war in Yemen, adults and children, had landed at Berbera and that the group had been taken to a reception center for health screening and registration, SAAB TV reported.<\/p>\n

For Somaliland, the Israeli embassy is the most concrete gain from Israel’s recognition so far, and for Mogadishu it is a precedent it fears other governments could follow. Bootan Weji, director of public private partnership in Somaliland, was a guest on a SAAB TV program on Tuesday titled “After Israel: who’s next for the Republic of Somaliland?”, the station said.<\/p>\n

Sources<\/h4>\n