Arab League condemns Israeli minister's visit to Hargeisa, rejects any infringement on Somalia's sovereignty

Cairo: The Arab League strongly condemned the visit made Tuesday morning by the Israeli Foreign Minister to the Somali city of Hargeisa, considering i...

Cairo: The Arab League strongly condemned the visit made Tuesday morning by the Israeli Foreign Minister to the Somali city of Hargeisa, considering it a failed attempt to push through Israeli recognition of the secession of the northwestern region from the Somali state.

In a statement on Tuesday, Arab League Secretary- General Ahmed Aboul Gheit reiterated the League's total rejection of any official or semi-official dealings with the authorities of the secessionist region outside the framework of the national sovereignty of the Federal Government.

He stated that such dealings constitute a blatant violation of Somalia's unity and sovereignty, which would undermine regional peace and security and exacerbate political tensions in Somalia, the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Horn of Africa.

Aboul Gheit noted that this move, which has been rejected and condemned internationally and by Arab states, was deemed null and void by the Council of the Arab League at its meeting on December 28th.

He said that it seeks to facilitate plans for the forced displacement of the Palestinian people and to seize Somali ports to establish military bases there.