Somalia: Forever Standing Shoulder to Shoulder with Palestine

Where selective enforcement replaces global consensus, true principles are hard to find. Addressing the United Nations General Assembly, Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud made his nation's position crystal clear. Somalia stands unconditionally with the Palestinian people and their right to an independent state remains non-negotiable. 

The world watched as events unfolded, some nations took a firm stand, others remained silent, while some actively enabled the bombardment. In the Gaza Strip, the humanitarian situation remains catastrophic as total casualties exceed 74,000 fatalities, with over 175,000 people injured since October 2023. Despite ceasefire agreements, ongoing military operations along buffer areas continue to cause casualties, target residential infrastructure, and trigger repeated mass displacements. 

Over 2 million residents face systemic public health collapse, with 91% enduring severe water insecurity and spilt sewage driving widespread disease outbreaks. Crippled by critical fuel and medical shortages, no healthcare facility operates at full capacity. Across the occupied territory, the economy has collapsed, over 90% of Gaza’s businesses are destroyed, reconstruction costs stand at $71.5 billion, and severe revenue withholdings deepen food insecurity across both Gaza and the West Bank. 

The international response to this ongoing tragedy has exposed a profound geopolitical divide across the globe. Dozens of nations across the Global South, alongside a growing number of European countries, have taken a firm stance rooted in international law. Conversely, several major powers have demonstrated glaring double standards, choosing political convenience and strategic self-interest over human rights. Through UN Security Council vetoes, continuous arms shipments, or persistent diplomatic silence, these states have shielded the occupation and allowed widespread civilian suffering and acute famine to persist unabated. 

Within this fractured global landscape, Somalia’s position carries vital moral and historical weight. Despite confronting its own severe security, economic, and climate challenges, Somalia refuses to treat international law as transactional. Having endured the bitter realities of conflict, state fragility, and displacement, Somalia speaks with lived empathy, reminding the international community that genuine global security cannot exist without justice, equal dignity, and the universal right to self-determination.

The connection between Somalia and Palestine is rooted in a fundamental understanding of sovereignty and resistance. As a nation that has fought to protect its territorial integrity and safeguard its people through decades of crisis, Somalia recognizes the human cost of occupation, displacement, and denied statehood. When Somalis speak on Palestine, it is not an abstract exercise in foreign policy, but an expression of identity. The struggle for Palestinian self-determination mirrors the broader historical efforts of post-colonial states to assert their rights on a global stage where power too often dictates justice.

While global priorities shift and headlines cycle, Somalia’s stance on Palestine remains unwavering across administrations. Addressing the United Nations, President Mohamud challenged international paralysis and highlighted how the devastation in Gaza and the West Bank exposes deep hypocrisies in global governance. “Somalia stands firmly with the Palestinian people and their legitimate right to self-determination and statehood,” he declared, stressing that a just resolution is essential for regional and global stability.

Through economic hardship, security transitions, and shifting global dynamics, the resolve of Somalia's government and its people remains steadfast. Somalia uses its diplomatic platform to demand structural accountability, standing shoulder to shoulder with Palestine, yesterday, today, and forever. 

By Su'ad Arif