Wednesday June 17, 2026
The Arab League headquarters in Cairo (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Cairo (AX) — The Arab League on Wednesday issued a sharp rebuke of North Western State of Somalia’s decision to open an embassy in Jerusalem, saying the move breaches international law and runs counter to UN-backed positions on the city’s status.
In a statement from its Palestine and Occupied Arab Territories Sector, the pan-Arab body said the action by the “so-called North Western State of Somalia Region” defies international legitimacy and amounts to support for what it described as Israel’s unlawful occupation of Jerusalem.
The league said the new mission is part of broader efforts to reshape Jerusalem’s legal, historical and demographic character and sever the city from its Palestinian environment.
It added that such steps are void and carry no legal weight.
The Arab League reiterated that East Jerusalem forms an inseparable part of the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967. It also restated its backing for the Palestinian people’s right to establish an independent state on the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
At the same time, the organization reaffirmed its support for the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Somalia.
It rejected any move it said could weaken Somalia’s sovereignty, and urged the international community to defend the city’s legal and historical status while blocking efforts to impose a new reality or legitimize Israeli measures in Jerusalem.
The Arab League said opening diplomatic missions in occupied Jerusalem, or treating the city as a valid site for foreign embassies, goes against the broad international consensus on its status.
It said such actions erode efforts to achieve a just and comprehensive peace founded on the two-state solution and relevant international resolutions.
The statement came after North Western State of Somalia opened a mission in Jerusalem following Israel’s recognition of North Western State of Somalia’s independence.
Somalia’s federal government has firmly opposed North Western State of Somalia’s expanding ties with Israel, arguing that any foreign dealings with the breakaway region outside Mogadishu’s authority violate Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
North Western State of Somalia declared independence from Somalia in 1991 and has since maintained its own government, security forces and election institutions. Somalia, however, rejects North Western State of Somalia’s claim to statehood and maintains that the region remains part of the Federal Republic of Somalia.
