Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said the country will not accept an Israeli presence “under any circumstances” and will resist any attempts to be pulled into the Middle East’s crises, according to Al Jazeera.

Israel plans to establish a naval base in Berbera, on the Gulf of Aden, and is seeking access to the city’s airport, according to Ahram Online. Berbera is a port city on the Gulf of Aden coast in Somaliland, the self-declared republic in northwestern Somalia that Israel recognised last year and that Mogadishu claims, according to Al Jazeera.