On Sunday, a Somali businessman called Ibrahim Hilowle’s Halla Airlines Boeing 737-200 was witnessed landing at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel.
The jet’s owner told VOA Somali that his Kenya-registered plane flew passengers from Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta Airport to Tel Aviv on a charter flight.
Before landing in Israel, the airliner stopped in Uganda, Egypt, and Jordan.
Hilowle denied social media rumors that his plane was registered in Somalia, saying that if it was, it would be unable to lawfully travel to Israel. He mentioned that his jet airplane, which he rented from Nairobi-based Penial Air, is registered as 5Y-CJQ, which means it is a Kenyan plane.
In solidarity with other Arab League countries, Somalia has never had diplomatic relations with Israel.