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The influential Islamic bloc backs Somalia following a wave of sharp international criticism aimed at the breakaway northern region of Somaliland for officially opening a diplomatic mission in Jerusalem. In an official communiqué released from its headquarters in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) General Secretariat strongly condemned the development, labeling the creation of the unsanctioned mission a flagrant violation of international law and the United Nations Charter. The sweeping multinational rebuke comes immediately after Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi inaugurated the new facility during a historic state visit to Israel, cementing a controversial bilateral alliance that has immediately upended regional diplomacy.
The escalating diplomatic dispute centers on deep-seated definitions of sovereign territorial integrity and the highly contested status of the holy city. In its official text, the OIC reiterated that Israel, as an occupying power, possesses absolutely no legal sovereignty over occupied Jerusalem. The 57-member pan-Islamic body emphasized that any unilateral measures, administrative decrees, or diplomatic arrangements intended to alter the political, legal, or demographic character of the city are entirely null and void under established global frameworks. By launching an accredited bureau in the city, Somaliland has become only the eighth territory worldwide to establish an embassy in Jerusalem, positioning itself alongside a small group of nations that includes the United States, Kosovo, and Paraguay.
The firm stance of the OIC has provided vital momentum to the Federal Government of Somalia, which treats the northern territory as an inseparable province and views any unapproved foreign treaties as direct international law violations. The Jeddah-based secretariat explicitly renewed its complete solidarity with the federal capital of Mogadishu, asserting its unwavering support for the preservation of Somalia’s national unity and independence. To counter the geopolitical shift, the Islamic bloc has formally called upon the wider international community to take an unyielding, unified position against Hargeisa’s unilateral tracks and actively oppose any efforts that threaten to undermine the long-term stabilization of the Horn of Africa.
Geopolitical specialists observe that while the new embassy marks a highly visible symbolic milestone for Somaliland’s decades-long international recognition campaign, the immediate pushback from powerful regional bodies like the OIC and the Muslim World League could severely restrict its diplomatic utility. Major global powers, including the European Union and the African Union, have continually echoed Mogadishu’s insistence on maintaining recognized maritime boundaries and internal cohesion. As federal diplomats mobilize their global networks to economically and politically isolate the new Jerusalem mission, the intense resistance from the Islamic world ensures that Somaliland’s controversial Middle Eastern alliance will remain a highly volatile flashpoint in international relations.