WASHINGTON, USA – President Donald Trump said Friday he is examining a plan involving the breakaway republic of Somaliland potentially accepting Palestinians displaced from the Gaza Strip, a proposal reportedly conditioned on the United States granting the territory formal recognition.
While Trump confirmed the Somaliland-Gaza aspect was under review, he did not comment on the crucial diplomatic component of recognition, which would upend decades of American foreign policy in the Horn of Africa.
“We’re looking into that right now,” Trump said at a White House news conference. “Good question, actually, and another complex one, as you know. But we’re working on that right now – Somaliland.”
The president’s remarks focused on the logistical part of the proposal, sidestepping whether his administration was actively considering recognizing Somaliland in exchange. The plan’s very existence, however, links a dire humanitarian crisis in the Middle East to a long-standing pursuit of sovereignty in Africa.
US firm modeled transfer
The president’s comments follow a Financial Times report on Thursday revealing that Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a major US-based firm, had modeled a plan to transfer Palestinians from Gaza to Somalia and the self-declared republic of Somaliland.
According to the report, BCG consultants developed the model for a group of Israeli businessmen who were developing plans for rebuilding Gaza after the war with Hamas. The work reportedly included a slide deck predicting that 25 percent of Gazans would want to leave the Strip, with a majority not wanting to return.
“By accepting the Gazans who relocate temporarily and voluntarily, a country will get an injection of population that will have an economic benefit that clearly could be significant,” a person familiar with the work told the Times.
The source clarified that the countries in the model were chosen not based on specific diplomatic discussions, but to analyze economic options Trump himself had previously raised.
The Financial Times also noted that BCG helped create the controversial US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which runs aid distribution sites in the enclave.
In March, Abdirahman Dahir Adan, Somaliland’s foreign minister, told Reuters there were “no talks with anyone regarding Palestinians.”
A decades-long quest
Somaliland, a former British protectorate, declared independence from Somalia in 1991 following the collapse of the Siad Barre regime. For over 30 years, it has maintained its government and military, establishing a reputation for relative stability in a turbulent region.
Despite this, no country has formally recognized Somaliland. The international community, including the United States, has historically adhered to a “One Somalia” policy.
Somaliland’s strategic location on the Gulf of Aden has amplified its importance, highlighted by a recent, and controversial, port access deal with landlocked Ethiopia. For Somaliland’s government, securing US recognition remains the ultimate diplomatic prize.
Unlike Somalia, which has been battling an Islamist insurgency for more than 17 years, Somaliland has largely remained peaceful since declaring independence from Mogadishu in 1991.
The Gaza component of the reported deal involves the potential mass displacement of Palestinians, an idea met with global condemnation. The territory is currently reeling from a devastating conflict and a severe humanitarian crisis, with the vast majority of its 2.3 million residents internally displaced.
Trump’s interest in reviewing the plan follows his previous remarks suggesting the clearing of Gaza for development. In February, he expressed a desire for Palestinians to be removed so that the territory could be transformed into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
Palestinian officials have consistently rejected what they see as attempts to force a “second Nakba,” a reference to the 1948 displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.
International law, specifically the Fourth Geneva Convention, prohibits the forcible transfer of populations in occupied territories.