Israeli FM visits Somaliland after world-first recognition storm

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar arrived in Somaliland for the first high-level diplomatic visit since it became the first country in the world to recognise the breakaway region’s independence, triggering condemnation and concerns that Palestinians may be forcibly expelled by Israel there.

Saar landed in the capital Hargeisa on Tuesday and was received by government officials at the airport, according to a statement from Somaliland’s presidency. He later met President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, with footage circulating online showing the two together at the presidential palace.

Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991. Somalia’s federal government insists Somaliland remains an integral part of Somali territory and warned that recognition undermines Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Saar said Israel is undeterred by the criticism about the recognition, and the two governments will “soon” open embassies and appoint ambassadors.

“We hear the attacks, the criticism, the condemnations,” Saar said. “Nobody will determine for Israel who we recognize and who we maintain diplomatic relations with.”

Somalia’s Foreign Ministry condemned Saar’s visit as an “unauthorized incursion” into its sovereign territory, and “unacceptable interference in the internal affairs” of Somalia.

The ministry said any official presence or engagement in Somali territory without Mogadishu’s consent was “illegal, null, and void”.

The Israeli visit comes as regional opposition to Israel’s recognition intensifies, with the African Union (AU) convening an emergency ministerial session on Tuesday to address the move.

More than 20 mostly Middle Eastern or African countries and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation rejected Israel’s move.

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelaty told the AU session that Israel’s recognition represented “a blatant violation” of Somalia’s sovereignty, and sets a “dangerous precedent that threatens regional and international peace and security”.

The AU’s Political Affairs Peace and Security Council called ⁠for the “immediate revocation” ​of Israel’s recognition ‍of Somaliland.

Meanwhile, Ismail Shirwac, a Somaliland diplomat, described Saar’s visit as marking “a defining moment in the deepening relations between two democratic nations operating in a strategically critical region”.

He said the diplomatic partnership was “not only significant, it is irreversible”.

Israel formally recognised Somaliland as an independent state on December 26, marking its second major breakthrough following the establishment of ties with Taiwan in 2020.

Somaliland’s president, in a New Year’s Eve message, said he expected more countries to follow.

Ted Cruz, the staunchly pro-Israel US senator from Texas, and a prominent supporter of Somaliland, has urged President Donald Trump to recognise it, calling it a matter of strategy that “aligns with America’s security interests”.

However, Trump appeared uninterested when asked about the issue in a recent interview with the New York Post, only saying the matter is being studied.

Self-declared independence

Somaliland broke away from Somalia unilaterally in 1991 as the country collapsed into civil war. While Somalia only began emerging from the chaos in the early 2000s, Somaliland stabilised by the late 1990s, establishing its own constitution, parliament and currency.

Somalia swiftly condemned Israel’s move as the “gravest attack” on its sovereignty and has mobilised diplomatic support across the region and beyond. Tens of thousands of Somalis took to the streets in late December, demanding national unity.

President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud alleged in an interview with Al Jazeera that Somaliland accepted three Israeli conditions in exchange for recognition: resettling Palestinians from Gaza, effectively facilitating ethnic cleansing; hosting an Israeli military base; and joining Trump’s Abraham Accords, which a handful of nations have joined and normalised relations with Israel.

Somaliland has denied agreeing to resettle Palestinians or host military facilities, insisting its engagement with Israel is “purely diplomatic” and conducted “in full respect of international law”.

However, Bashir Goth, Somaliland’s representative to the United States, told the Middle East Forum, “As two independent countries which recognise each other, with diplomatic relations, there is nothing that can stop us from having a security cooperation or a security pact.”

‘Military target’

The timing of Saar’s visit also occurs amid a backdrop of growing tensions across the Red Sea region.

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud held talks in Cairo with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Monday, with both countries affirming their commitment to preserving Somalia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Days earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held separate phone calls with both Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed, emphasising that Turkiye  “supports the territorial integrity and unity” of both Somalia and Yemen.

The coordination reflects broader regional realignments, with Saudi Arabia and Turkiye increasingly allied against the United Arab Emirates’ influence across the Red Sea region, including in Yemen, where Saudi forces recently clashed with UAE-supported separatists, prompting UAE troops to withdraw.

The leader of Yemen’s Houthi rebels has also warned that any Israeli presence in Somaliland would be considered a “military target”.

“We consider any Israeli presence in Somaliland a military target for our armed forces as it constitutes aggression against Somalia and Yemen, and a threat to the security of the region,” said the group’s chief, Abdel-Malik al-Houthi, according to a statement published by rebel media online in late December.

Aljazera