Hargeisa (PP Editorial) — Mohamed Hagi, the so-called Ambassador of Somaliland Adminstration to Jerusalem claimed by Israel as its capital, tweeted what he described as a translation of the speech of the President of Somalia Dr Hassan Sheikh Mohamud marking Eid Al Adha. “The video clearly shows the President of Mogadishu promoting antisemitic rhetoric through inflammatory and hostile remarks directed against Jews and Israel” tweeted Mohamed misleadingly.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud took an oath to defend the sovereignty of the Federal Republic of Somalia. When President Mohamed denounces the recognition of Somaliland Administration as a country by Israel, he used the words that can roughly be translated into English as “the Adminstration in Northern Somalia” but the translation with the clip shared by Mohamed Hagi in his tweet uses “Somaliland” instead of “the Adminstration in Northern Somalia” among other mistranslations. The last thing Israelis need is be fed disinformation by Mohamed Hagi and his ilk.
Nothing in the speech of President Mohamud can be characterised as anti-Semitic. The desire to mislead the public about the speech reflects the intention to distort history, a practice for which Somali secessionists are notorious. President Mohamud said that Somalia does not reject the sovereignty of Israel and expects the Jewish State to accept the creation of the State of Palestine with a capital in Jerusalem. In 1978 Somalia supported Egypt over the Camp David Agreement.
President Mohamud raised ethical questions in the context of Islamic theology to denounce the decision of Somaliland Adminstration President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in repudiation of the two-state solution. The 1980 UN resolution denounced the claim that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.
Israel killed more than 70,000 Palestinians in Gaza. Many countries including the United Kingdom of which Mohamed Haji is a citizen will arrest Benjamin Netanyahu to enforce an arrest warrant issued by the International Court of Justice.
It is true that many Muslims from other countries ask Somalis what became of “you to denounce the Palestinian cause and their right to statehood”. Somali taxi drivers in Europe and America often get asked if they are from Hargeisa or Mogadishu. Many drivers from the North claim to have come from Mogadishu to avoid being asked uncomfortable questions about the Somaliland Adminstration Embassy in Jerusalem.
In Hargeisa the opposition to the so-called embassy of Somaliland Adminstration in Jerusalem is growing partly because of messages from the diaspora members who understand how denunciation of the Palestinian cause by Somaliland Administration continues to damage the image of Somaliland Adminstration.
“It is not in Somaliland’s best interest to turn the entire world against itself. Somaliland’s interests lie in seeking recognition from every single country. This is why I believe that a decision which violates international law does not serve Somaliland. I am not speaking right now about Palestine’s interests, although I should” wrote Dr Guled Jama, a lawyer in Hargeisa, to highlight the absurdity of Somaliland Adminstration recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
© Puntland Post, 2026