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Hassan Sheikh Mohammed said his country believed the move was linked to Israel’s plan to forcibly evict Palestinians from Gaza.

Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohammed told Al Jazeera that Israel’s “unexpected and strange” recognition of Somaliland could have consequences for Palestinians in Gaza.

“Somaliland has long claimed secession over the past three decades, but no country in the world has acknowledged this,” Mohammed told Al Jazeera in an exclusive interview in Istanbul, Turkey, on Tuesday.

“For us, we have been trying to reunite the country in a peaceful way,” the Somali leader added. “So, 34 years later, it’s very unexpected and strange that Israel suddenly jumps in and says, ‘We recognize Somaliland.'”

Israel last week became the first and only formally recognizes SomalilandIt is a breakaway region in northwestern Somalia, adjacent to the Gulf of Aden.

The Somali president also told Al Jazeera that Somaliland accepted three conditions from Israel in exchange for recognition: the resettlement of Palestinians, the establishment of an Israeli military base on the Gulf of Aden coast, and Somaliland’s accession to Israel, according to Somali intelligence. Abraham Accords. The agreements are part of a series of agreements establishing the normalization of relations between Israel and several Arab countries. The UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan have signed the agreement.

Mohammed also said that there is intelligence in Somalia that shows that Israel already has a certain level of presence in Somaliland, and that Israel’s recognition of the area is just a normalization of what is already happening in secret.

The Somali leader added that Israel would resort to forcibly deporting Palestinians to Somalia and that its presence in the region was not for peace.

one 20 point plan “No one will be forced to leave Gaza, and those who want to leave will be free to leave and free to return,” a statement issued by US President Donald Trump’s administration ahead of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza said.

However, Israel reportedly continues to explore ways to expel Palestinians from besieged and occupied territories, including in Mysterious flight to South Africaofficially accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.

Mohammed said Israel also seeks to control strategically important waterways that connect commercially and economically important seas, namely the Red Sea, the Gulf and the Gulf of Aden.

The Somali leader held a joint news conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey on Tuesday. two leaders Israel’s recognition of breakaway areas could destabilize the Horn of Africa, warns

Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 but failed to gain recognition from any U.N. member state until Israel reversed its stance on Friday.

Israel’s move was immediately condemned, including by most member states United Nations Security Council at an emergency meeting in New York on Monday.

The United States was the only member of the 15-seat body to defend Israel’s move, although it stressed that its position on Somaliland remained unchanged.