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The foreign ministers of over a dozen mostly Muslim-majority countries condemn Somaliland’s decision to open its first-ever embassy abroad in Jerusalem, in an official joint statement.
The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, Turkey, Pakistan, Indonesia, Djibouti, Somalia, Oman, Sudan, Yemen, Lebanon, Mauritania and the Palestinian Authority “condemn in the strongest terms the illegal and rejected step represented by the so-called ‘Somaliland Region’ proceeding to open an alleged ’embassy’ for it in the occupied city of Jerusalem,” the statement reads, calling the move a “flagrant violation of international law and relevant international legitimacy resolutions.”
In December, Israel became the first country in the world to recognize Somaliland, which broke away from Somalia in 1991. It announced last week that it would open an embassy in Jerusalem, making it the eighth country to do so.
Most nations’ embassies in Israel are in Tel Aviv, with countries arguing Jerusalem’s standing can only be decided as part of a final status agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, who claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state. Israel took control of East Jerusalem — which includes the Old City and its holy sites — from Jordan during the 1967 Six Day War. Israel annexed the territory in 1980 and considers the entire city its capital.
