Israeli Travellers Forced to Enter Somalia via Ethiopia

[Deeq A.]

Hargeisa (PP News Desk) — Five days after Benjamin Netanyahu recognised the Somaliland Administration as a republic, Israelis have found it difficult to travel to northern Somalia. Most enter via the border between Ethiopia and Somalia. Applications for Somali e-visas have reportedly increased, with the majority of applicants holding American passports in order to travel to Hargeisa.

Right-wing supporters of Netanyahu have begun booking flights to Somalia to demonstrate support for  “the unlawful recognition” granted by Israel to the Somali secessionist entity known as the Somaliland Administration.

“The world sees Netanyahu’s brazen attempt to redraw African borders. He seeks to go down in history as the man who proved that Africa remains vulnerable to colonialism again. Let us not delude ourselves into believing that a leader wanted for crimes can dismember the Federal Republic of Somalia,” said a unionist in Hargeisa.

Israeli commentators have criticised the African Union’s principle of maintaining colonial borders. “It as an obstacle to the unilateral secession of the Somaliland Administration from Somalia” a columnist for a Hebrew newspaper argued. 

The Federal Government of Somalia is reportedly considering a range of measures, including stricter enforcement of travel procedures to Somalia and the designation of Israel’s recognition of the Somaliland Administration as a national security threat.    

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