OIC Condemns Somaliland Embassy Opening in Occupied Jerusalem as Illegal

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation condemned the opening of an embassy by the so-called “Somaliland” in occupied Jerusalem, calling the move illegal and a “flagrant violation of the Charter of the United Nations and its relevant resolutions.”

The OIC’s General Secretariat said Israel, as the occupying power, has no sovereignty over occupied Jerusalem and that measures aimed at changing the city’s political, legal or demographic status are null and void under international law.

Al-Bawaba News

The OIC also reaffirmed its full solidarity with Somalia and its support for Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

In a separate report, WAFA said the General Secretariat called on the international community to take a firm stance against the illegal move and to counter it.

Al-Television Al-Arabi reported that the head of the self-proclaimed Somaliland region, Abd al-Rahman Mohammed Abdullah, met his Israeli counterpart, Isaac Herzog, on Sunday and intended to open an embassy for the region in occupied Jerusalem.

The same report said Hamas described the plan as a “political sin” and a violation of international norms and laws, condemning the move by the head of the so-called Somaliland region to visit the Zionist entity and meet its leaders.

Al-Jarida al-Quds

Hamas said those leaders “occupy the lands of Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon” and work “to Judaize the city of Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

The report also said the visit was the first official visit by the head of Somaliland’s breakaway region to another country and was set to conclude on Monday with the “opening of Somaliland's embassy in Jerusalem” according to the Israeli newspaper Maariv.

The OIC’s General Secretariat framed the embassy opening as illegal under the UN Charter, affirming that Israel—the Occupying Power—has no sovereignty over Occupied Jerusalem.

In its condemnation, the OIC said all decisions and measures aimed at altering Jerusalem’s political, legal, or demographic status are null and void under international law.

WAFA echoed that the General Secretariat reaffirmed its full solidarity with the Federal Republic of Somalia and its unwavering support for Somalia’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Together, the OIC’s position and Hamas’s rejection set up a dispute over who can act regarding occupied Jerusalem, with the OIC calling for international countermeasures and Hamas urging the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to act to prevent the “separatist region” from breaking the unified stance toward “our people and our national and Arab cause.”