Israel becomes world's first country to recognize self-proclaimed Republic of Somaliland
Earlier this year, reports said the U.S. and Israel held talks with Somaliland officials about possibly using its territory to resettle Palestinians. Somalia, which considers the breakaway region part of its sovereign territory, denounced Israel's move as a 'deliberate attack on its sovereignty'
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Earlier this year, reports said the U.S. and Israel held talks with Somaliland officials about possibly using its territory to resettle Palestinians. Somalia, which considers the breakaway region part of its sovereign territory, denounced Israel's move as a 'deliberate attack on its sovereignty'
Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi. Credit: Dr. Mohamed Hagi
Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi. Credit: Dr. Mohamed Hagi
December 26, 2025Updated:09:47 PM IST
Israel has formally recognized Somaliland, the self-declared breakaway region of Somalia, as an independent state, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Friday, making Israel the first country to extend such recognition.
"This declaration is in the spirit of the Abraham Accords signed at the initiative of President Trump," Netanyahu's office said, adding that he spoke with the East African leader and that Israel "plans to immediately expand ... cooperation in the fields of agriculture, health, technology and the economy."
"Over the past year, based on an extensive and ongoing dialogue, relations between Israel and Somaliland have taken shape," Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said on X.
Somaliland is an unrecognized state in the Horn of Africa bordering Ethiopia, Somalia and Djibouti. It unilaterally broke away from Somalia in 1991, but has not been recognized by the international community as an independent state.
Somalia considers Somaliland part of its sovereign territory and denounced the move later Friday, calling it a "deliberate attack to its sovereignty."
"The Federal Government underscores that Somalia is a single, indivisible sovereign state," Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre's office said in a statement, noting any such recognition was null under international law.
