Lebanon rejects Israel's recognition of Somaliland

The Foreign Ministry rejected, in a statement released Sunday, Israel’s recognition of the separatist Republic of Somaliland, expressing "the full support of the Lebanese Republic for the sovereignty of the sisterly Federal Republic of Somalia and the unity of its territory," and voicing its "total rejection of the declaration of mutual recognition between Israel and the Somaliland region."

The statement highlights "the importance of respecting international law and the United Nations Charter, and of not imposing parallel entities that threaten the unity, sovereignty and internationally recognized borders of states," and affirms its support for Somalia's legitimate state institutions, Somalia's stability, and its opposition to any attempt to undermine its security and the unity of its territory.

Israel announced Friday the official recognition of Somaliland, a first for this self-declared republic, which seceded from Somalia and has not until now been recognized by any other country.

This decision, which could have geopolitical repercussions in the Red Sea region, has been condemned by Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, Egypt, and Turkey, which described it as "interference."

Al-Shabab, an armed Islamist group linked to al-Qaida that has been fighting the Somali government since 2006, also declared Saturday that it would "fight" any attempt by Israel to "use" Somaliland after the Israeli government officially recognized this republic on Friday.

In Lebanon, Israel’s decision also prompted a reaction from Jaafari Mufti Ahmad Kabalan, an ally of the Amal-Hezbollah alliance, who described it as a "catastrophic partition whose future consequences alone are equivalent to the Balfour Declaration and the Sykes-Picot agreements combined," two events in the early 20th century that led to the current carving up of the Middle East, according to a statement relayed by the state-run National News Agency.

"It is incumbent upon us, as the Lebanese state and as Gulf and Arab states, to take strategic action to prevent the formation of a new Israel in this region — by force. Without force, Arabs will lose the rest of their existence," he further warned, adding: "Nothing has killed the Arabs more than slumber [on important issues]."