Sa’ar: Somaliland agreement does not include resettlement of Gazans

The foreign minister called ties with the pro-Western and Israel-friendly Horn of Africa state “a significant strategic asset.”

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar told Channel 14 in an interview Wednesday that the agreement that led to the establishment of diplomatic ties with Somaliland does not include the resettlement of Gazans.

The question had loomed large, as Somaliland had been mentioned as a possible destination for mass, voluntary migration by Gazans seeking to escape their largely destroyed enclave and the iron rule of Hamas, when U.S. President Donald Trump first broached the idea early last year.

However, days after returning from his first public visit to the Muslim country following Israel’s historic decision to become the first country in the world to recognize its independence, Sa’ar sought to put an end to the speculation when asked about it.

“I can say that this is not part of our agreement with Somaliland, and that’s what I can say on this issue,” he said.

There were other important aspects that Jerusalem would promote with Hargeisa, he continued, “in policies, security and development,” seemingly referring to economic ties.

When the interviewer interjected, “But not migration of Gazans,” Sa’ar smiled slightly and repeated, “I’m saying that this is not part of the agreement.”

This response, rather than a flat denial, may indicate that some kind of informal, unwritten understanding was reached on the subject that may only become clear in the future — or not.

Even without such a development, the minister characterized his trip as “very important,” saying that strong working relations with a moderate, pro-Western and Israel-friendly state in the Horn of Africa are “a significant strategic asset.”

“Africa has become a continent where all the countries that are enemies of Israel are investing huge efforts and establishing terrorism, arms transfers, and in certain places we know that the terrorist elements also want to turn them into future fronts against Israel. Especially those where sovereignty is crumbling, for example in Libya or Sudan and the like,” he explained.

The pushback Israel has received from unfriendly countries such as Turkey and Qatar indicates that “we are doing something very right,” he noted, “because they’d be very happy if we were erased from this whole region of the Horn of Africa, which leads directly to Eilat and through which all maritime traffic passes.”

Sa’ar did not directly answer when asked what message the move sends to the Houthis, the Iranian terror proxy in Yemen just across the Bab el-Mandeb Strait from Somaliland, which launched hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel during the two-year war with Hamas.

He noted that terrorism is “advancing” from both sides of the Red Sea, with the Houthis on one side of it and the Al-Shabaab jihadist group active across the Somaliland border in Somalia.

This whole area is a “critical part of Israel’s region,” he said, underscoring the importance of cultivating strong ties with Somaliland.

A Somaliland Foreign Ministry official meanwhile told Channel 12 on Wednesday that discussions are taking place between Jerusalem and Hargeisa about security cooperation, including the establishment of a military base in the country.