BarcelonaIsrael has officially recognized Somaliland, the breakaway region of Somalia, as an “independent and sovereign state”, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a statement. In this way, it becomes the first country to recognize this semi-desert territory, similar in size to Nicaragua, where 3.5 million inhabitants live and which declared its independence in 1991. Since then, no other country had recognized it as an independent country.
“This statement is in the spirit of the Abraham Accords signed at the initiative of President Trump,” Netanyahu justified, referring to the agreements that Israel signed in 2020 with the mediation of the United States to normalize diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Later, two other countries also joined the agreement: Sudan and Morocco.
Other leaders, on the other hand, consider that the Israeli prime minister’s diplomatic move has another goal: to move the Palestinians expelled from the Gaza Strip to Somaliland. In fact, several American media outlets reported months ago that the United States and Israel had contacted three East African governments, including that of Somaliland, as possible destinations for relocating the population of the Strip.
An oasis of calm in a turbulent region
Disputed area between Somaliland and Puntland
puntlandia
Semiauton state
Somaliland
Limited recognition
puntlandia
Semiauton state
Somaliland
Limited recognition
Area in dispute between
Somaliland and Puntland
puntlandia
Semiauton state
Somaliland
Limited recognition
Area in dispute between
Somaliland and Puntland
The president of Somaliland, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, has described the Israeli prime minister’s decision as a “historic moment” and expressed his willingness to join the Abraham Accords. Instead, the Somali government has made it clear that it “categorically and unequivocally rejects the deliberate attack on its sovereignty and Israel’s illegal move.” “The region of Somaliland is an integral, inseparable and inalienable part of the sovereign territory of the Somali Republic,” he recalled.
In fact, the president of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, spoke this Saturday with several African leaders to express his rejection of Israel’s decision. For example, he has spoken with his Kenyan counterpart, William Ruto; that of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni; the one from Tanzania, Samia Suluhu Hassan, and the one from Djibouti, Ismaïl Omar Guelleh.
Conviction from multiple countries
Many other countries have also condemned Israel’s decision, including China, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Venezuela. The UN Security Council will hold an urgent session this Monday to discuss the recognition of the Republic of Somaliland by Israel, according to the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon. The meeting has been requested by Israel.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar first met with representatives of Somaliland’s president last March, and since then there have been several secret visits by senior officials, US media reported.
On the other hand, Netanyahu plans to visit the American president, Donald Trump, this Monday to discuss the implementation of the second phase of the cease-fire plan in Gaza, which includes the disarmament of Hamas for the total withdrawal of Israeli forces from the enclave.
Somaliland, which was a British protectorate until 1960, is not recognized internationally, although it has its own Constitution, currency and government, and even better economic development and more political stability than the rest of Somalia. The region declared its separation from Somalia, a former Italian colony, in 1991, when dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown.
In recent decades, Somalia and Somaliland have pushed for several unsuccessful attempts at dialogue on the independence of the region. Somalia has been living in a situation of conflict and chaos since the overthrow of Barre. The country was then left without an effective government and in the hands of Islamist militias, such as Al-Shabab.
