A growing number of countries and international organisations have condemned Israel’s decision to recognise Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland as an independent state.
Before an Arab League meeting on Sunday, Arab, African, European and other states warned that the move breaches international law.
More than 20 mostly Middle Eastern and African countries, alongside the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (OIC), issued a joint statement rejecting what they described as an “unprecedented measure” that would have serious repercussions for peace and security in the Horn of Africa, the Red Sea, and beyond.
The statement was signed by the foreign ministers of Egypt, Algeria, Comoros, Djibouti, Gambia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, the Maldives, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Turkey and Yemen.
“The ministers affirmed their categorical rejection of this decision and their full support for the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Somalia,” the statement said, warning that recognising the independence of part of a sovereign state sets a “dangerous precedent” that threatens international peace and security.
Israel announced on Friday that it had formally recognised Somaliland, a self-proclaimed republic that declared independence from Somalia in 1991 amid the country’s collapse into civil war. No country had recognised Somaliland in more than three decades, despite it operating its own government, currency, passports and security forces.
Earlier this year, US and Israeli officials told the Associated Press that Israel had approached Somaliland about taking in Palestinians from Gaza as part of US President Donald Trump's plan at the time to resettle the territory's population. The US has since abandoned that plan.
The signatories to the joint statement rejected any attempt to link the move to schemes aimed at displacing Palestinians from their land, stressing that such plans are “rejected in both form and substance”.
Regional analysts believe that a rapprochement with Somaliland could allow Israel to secure better access to the Red Sea.
Strategic position
The EU also pushed back, with the foreign affairs spokesman, Anouar El Anouni, repeating the bloc’s support for Somalia’s unity, while urging dialogue between Somaliland and Somalia’s federal government to resolve long-standing disputes.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the declaration was signed by the prime minister, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi “in the spirit of the Abraham Accords”, the US-brokered initiative launched in 2020 to normalise relations between Israel and several Arab and Muslim-majority states.
The US State Department said on Saturday that Washington continues to recognise Somalia’s territorial integrity, “which includes the territory of Somaliland”.
Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud condemned Israel’s decision as interference in his country’s internal affairs, saying meddling in Somalia’s sovereignty runs counter to established legal and diplomatic norms. Mogadishu earlier described the move as a “deliberate attack” on Somalia’s territorial integrity.
The country’s Al Qaeda-linked militant group Al Shabaab pledged to fight any attempt by Israel “to claim or use parts of Somaliland”.
Somaliland occupies a strategic position on the Gulf of Aden, across from Yemen and near Djibouti, which hosts military bases for the US, China, France and other powers.
