The Trump administration is considering three potential areas for the absorption of refugee Gazans after President Donald Trump announced that the US plans to take over the Gaza Strip and relocate those currently there to rebuild the area, N12 reported on Wednesday.
“According to the report, the areas being considered are Morocco, Puntland, and Somaliland.
“The report noted that what these three countries share in common is a strong need for US support, as Somaliland and Puntland seek international recognition, and Morocco has an ongoing territorial dispute over Western Sahara.”
Somaliland has been looking for recognition as an independent country. There were early reports that the Trump admin might recognize Somaliland. And the prospect of that is what keeps Rep. Ilhan Omar up at night.
Somalia and its various regional Islamist allies have been maneuvering hard to block efforts by Somaliland to build relationships with other countries. After heading off efforts for a deal between Somaliland and Ethiopia, the Somalis have been confronted with growing Republican support for Somaliland.
The case for recognizing Somaliland is straightforward. It’s been a de facto independent country for 30 years, and the idea that there is any “united” Somalia is mostly a myth anyway.
Puntland is more of a mixed Somali breakaway province, and like Somaliland there are clan politics at work here. The Trump administration recently carried out airstrikes targeting Islamic State in Puntland. So there is a relationship.
Both Somaliland and Puntland combined have a population of about 10 million, so I don’t know how many Gazans they could take, but trading U.S. recognition for Gazans is interesting, out-of-the-box thinking.
And I can’t think of anything that would make Rep. Ilhan Omar madder.
