Israel Has Recognized Somaliland’s Independence

December 28, 2025 8:25pm

Something interesting happened the day after Christmas that almost no one is talking about. Israel recognized Somaliland as a sovereign, independent state.

From a geopolitical perspective, this is very good news for Israel, Somaliland, and the entire Middle East. But most westerners - if they even know about the recognition - are thinking Somaliland? What's Somaliland? They've heard of Somalia, of course. But what's Somaliland? Both Somalia and Somaliland are in the Horn of Africa, which is the easternmost corner of the continent lying below the Arabian Peninsula. The Horn borders the Indian Ocean on its east coast and the Gulf of Aden on its north coast. Somaliland is comprised of the northwest portion of that horn abutting Djibouti and Ethiopia.

The quick history of Somaliland is that the Somaliland Protectorate was proclaimed through treaties between Great Britain and the various Somaliland clans in the 19th Century. France, Italy, and Ethiopia recognized the international boundaries of the Protectorate via various treaties signed between 1887 and 1894.

It wasn't until June 26, 1960 that Somaliland ended its colonial relationship with Great Britain and became an independent, sovereign state. Five days later, Somaliland united with Somalia. But that unification lasted less than a year. Because on January 31, 1961, the National Assembly of the Republic of Somalia passed the "Act of Union" that retroactively dissolved their 1960 unification agreement - something that is illegal under international law. But Somalia did it anyway.

It got worse, however. Somalia didn't just tell Somaliland that it didn't want to be a combined entity anymore. It told Somaliland that Somaliland was now a fully incorporated region of Somalia and was subject to Somalia's government in Mogadishu. And there wasn't much the government of Somaliland could do about it because Somalia had already annexed Somaliland, its institutions, and its infrastructure. Somali law was imposed upon Somaliland, and all of Somaliland's government was dissolved. The merger was no longer an agreement among equals. The people of Somaliland played no role in crafting the Constitution of the new Somali Republic. It was a takeover imposed unilaterally by Somalia. You can imagine how well that was received in Hargeisa, the capitol of Somaliland. High ranking Somaliland military officers mounted a coup, but it wasn't successful.

Mogadishu disproportionately awarded political and military positions to people from southern Somalia, which meant that the residents of the Somaliland region in the north of the country were treated as second class citizens. In 1969, Abdirashid Shermarke, the President of Somalia was assassinated, and the government was taken over by Mohammed Siad Barre who lead the military coup against the government in Mogadishu. He imposed a one-party, Marxist–Leninist, communist state. He renamed the country the Somali Democratic Republic, something that is traditional among communists; to hide their dictatorships behind empty words like "Democratic" and "Peoples Republic." As is also traditional among communist governments and military dictatorships, there were widespread human rights abuses throughout the country.

Then in the 1980s, the armed, independence minded Somali National Movement was formed within Somaliland. A brutal civil war raged between Somaliland and Somalia until 1991 when the Barre regime collapsed. Somaliland gained some de facto autonomy but not de jure independence. And while various militias in the south fought for control of Mogadishu, Somalia sank into anarchy.

Leaders in Somaliland declared Somaliland’s sovereignty and independence from Somalia by renaming themselves the Republic of Somaliland. But no nation recognized the Republic of Somaliland as a legitimate entity - until December 26th that is; when, after 34 years of no one formally recognizing Somaliland's independence, Israel became the first nation to do so.

I will get into why Israel recognized Somaliland's independence in a moment. But first, I think it's important to explain that Somaliland’s constitution largely mirrors the Constitution of the United States. It requires a separation of power between three branches of government (Executive, Legislative, and Judicial). It mandates that the government is a representative democracy that allows the existence of opposition political parties, the rule of law, free press, and respect for fundamental human rights and freedoms. It has held seven free and fair elections with the losing side peacefully accepting the outcomes every time. The Republic of Somaliland is an anomaly in the region. It has enjoyed 34 years of peaceful democratic governance. That's very rare among Muslim majority nations.

So why did Israel recognize Somaliland's independence? Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in his announcement on the social media platform X that "The State of Israel plans to immediately expand its relations with the Republic of Somaliland through extensive cooperation in the fields of agriculture, health, technology, and economy."

What does that mean? Well, in addition to establishing mutual embassies, it means Israel will have a formal presence along the Gulf of Aden. The Gulf of Aden is just outside the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which is the southern entrance into the Red Sea. So the location is very beneficial for purposes of protecting freedom of navigation through the Suez Canal which connects the northern Red Sea with the Mediterranean. So Somaliland's geographic location brings a lot strategic benefit to Israel, although the current deal does not include IDF military bases there. I suspect the Israel Defense Forces will be able to use Somaliland territory on an as-needed basis, but permanent bases are not included in the current deal.

The economies of both Israel and Somaliland should benefit. As Muslims in other nations see the lives of Somaliland citizens improve through economic development and trade with Israel, they will hopefully reconsider their hatred of Israel and reject the violent tactics they use in their efforts to destroy the Jewish State. But just as important - or perhaps more important - is the message this deal sends to Iran, Qatar, and Türkiye (Turkey).

Iran has used its terrorist proxies in Yemen (which also borders the Bab el-Mandeb Strait) to impede global maritime trade through the region and to attack Israeli shipping interests trying to traverse the Suez Canal. Formal diplomatic relations and intelligence cooperation between Israel and Somaliland should improve maritime security for Israel and limit Iran's desired hegemony in the region. It may also discourage Houthi attacks from Yemen. Or it may encourage more attacks. That is difficult to predict.

Qatar has opposed Israel via diplomatic condemnation and its funding of organizations that seek the destruction of Israel through violence, boycott, divestment, and sanctions. Israel's air strikes of September 9th notwithstanding, Doha gives protective shelter to the terrorist leaders of Hamas. Its government and so-called "charities" funnel money to Hamas, Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, ISIS, the Al-Nusra Front in Syria, and to Muslim Brotherhood affiliates worldwide. The Qatari state-funded Al Jazeera news network engages in aggressive propaganda against Israel and anyone who supports the Jewish state.

Since Erdoğan rose to power in Turkey in 2014, he has tried to exert his Islamic influence throughout what was once the Ottoman Empire. The area that is Somaliland was part of the Ottoman Empire from 1548 - 1884. Through military cooperation and political patronage, Turkey has aided the Islamicization of Somalia and other Muslim majority nations in the region. Despite its membership in NATO, Turkey has weakened its alliances with the West in exchange for relationships with the Muslim Brotherhood and the terrorists the Muslim Brotherhood supports. Erdoğan has fomented instability and violence against Israel.

This new relationship between Israel and Somaliland could help illuminate a bright future for Israel. I'm not being a Pollyanna here. Israel will continue to face real challenges and real threats. Despite the ceasefire, hostilities are still raging in Gaza. Violence against Jews continues in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank). Hezbollah still has the capability to rain rockets upon Israeli cities. Jihadists in Syria have not been eliminated. Diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia remain elusive. And antisemitism is a fast-growing cancer throughout the world.

But this formalized recognition of legitimacy between the Jewish State of Israel and the Muslim-but-not-Islamist Republic of Somaliland can demonstrate to the world that peaceful cooperation with Israel is the proper way to prosperity and peace. It will hopefully send a message to the Muslim Brotherhood terrorists and to those who support its destructive agenda that the achievable path to prosperity and peace is not through wars and intifadas. But it is instead through cooperation with Israel, one of the most decent and moral nations to have ever existed.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdallah deserve praise for this accomplishment. And in the spirit of the Abraham Accords, President Donald Trump deserves a nod as well. I don't want to overstate things. But on December 26, 2025, the geopolitical map of the region changed to the benefit of Israel. And because Israel helps guard America's security, the United States benefited as well.