Rayhan Uddin
Middle East Eye / December 26, 2025
Netanyahu announces recognition of breakaway region, inviting Somaliland president on official visit to Israel.
Israel has officially recognised the breakaway region of Somaliland as a sovereign state, becoming the first country to do so.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Friday that he had signed a mutual declaration alongside Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Saar, and Somaliland’s president, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi.
The declaration states that Israel recognises Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state.
Somaliland has been part of the unified Somali Republic since 1960, but declared its independence in 1991 and established a de facto state.
Although it has had unofficial diplomatic relations with several countries, its sovereignty had not been recognised by any permanent UN member state until Friday.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said the declaration was “in the spirit” of the Abraham Accords, the normalisation agreements signed between Israel and several Arab states in 2020.
In a video posted on social media, Netanyahu announced the recognition with a video call with Abdullahi.
“Our friendship is seminal and historic. So I’m very, very happy and I’m very proud of this day,” the prime minister said.
“I think this will be a great opportunity for expanding our partnership. We intend to work together with you on economic fields, on agriculture, and the fields of social development.”
He then extended an invitation to the president for an official visit to Israel.
“Of course I’ll communicate to President Trump your willingness and desire to join the Abraham Accords,” Netanyahu added.
Abdullahi responded by calling it a historic day and said he accepted the invitation.
“I will be glad to be in Jerusalem as soon as possible,” the Somaliland president told Netanyahu.
Cameron Hudson, a consultant on security and geopolitics in Africa, and former CIA analyst, said that while a few countries may follow Israel’s lead, there would be pushback from African countries.
“Countries that don’t want to endanger their relationships with the African Union, other African countries, or other Arab states rejecting this recognition, will be hesitant to advance any diplomatic relationship with Somaliland,” Hudson told Middle East Eye.
“This is a very divisive and selfish move by the Israelis to advance their own interests, without providing broader recognition of the interests of other African or regional states who will see this as unsettling and even threatening,” he added.
Badr Abdelatty, Egypt’s foreign minister, held a phone call on Friday with his counterparts in Somalia, Turkey and Djibouti, following the announcement.
Cairo’s foreign ministry said that the ministers of all four countries rejected and condemned Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, and stressed their “full support for the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia”.
It said that it also rejected “any plans to displace the Palestinian people outside their land, which are rejected by the vast majority of the world’s countries”.
Earlier this year, several media outlets reported that the US and Israel had contacted Somaliland over the potential resettlement of forcibly displaced Palestinians from Gaza.
Somaliland’s foreign minister denied the reports, stating: “I haven’t received such a proposal, and there are no talks with anyone regarding Palestinians.”
The discussions risked tensions and anger among Somalilanders, analysts and locals previously told MEE.
UAE ties
In August, Ted Cruz, the Republican senator from Texas, wrote to President Donald Trump urging him to formally recognise Somaliland.
Cruz said Hargeisa was seeking to strengthen ties with Israel and had voiced support for the Abraham Accords.
Somaliland’s authorities maintain close relations with the United Arab Emirates, which is thought to be a key advocate for Hargeisa’s recognition on the international stage.
MEE reported in October that Somaliland’s Berbera port was part of a network of bases along the Gulf of Aden built by the UAE.
The Somaliland government accepted an Emirati bid in 2017 to establish a military base in Berbera.
Satellite imagery shows the naval base in Berbera has been transformed from a stalled project into a near-completed facility, with advanced infrastructure including a modern military port, a deep-water dock and an airstrip with hangars and support facilities.
The runway at Berbera is 4km long, allowing it to receive heavy transport aircraft and fighter jets.
Together, these facilities have turned Berbera into a regionally important strategic hub.
In June, Abu Dhabi finalised an agreement to build a railway linking the Somaliland port to Ethiopia
Rayhan Uddin is a Middle East Eye journalist based in London
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Boston Consulting Group modelled plan to ‘relocate Palestinians’ from Gaza to Somalia
MEE staff
Middle East Eye / August 7, 2025
BCG had acted on behalf of Israeli businessmen who want to redevelop the territory once Palestinians have been expelled.
The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) modelled plans to relocate Palestinians from Gaza to Somalia and Somaliland, on behalf of Israeli businessmen looking to redevelop the enclave.
People familiar with the work told the Financial Times that the two African states were included among a range of countries that the Palestinians could be deported to.
The list also included Egypt, United Arab Emirates and Jordan.
The modelling grew out of BCG’s work helping to set up the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which has been widely criticised for the enormous number of people killed at its aid delivery sites.
The post-war modelling, when reported, provoked an outcry and the consulting firm publicly disavowed the work, stating that the partner in charge had been told not to do it.
Relocation plans were based on media reports suggesting Israeli and US officials had held discussions with East African leaders about taking in Palestinian deportees, in return for perks such as their recognition of the breakaway Somaliland as an independent state.
The threat of relocation, which US President Donald Trump has said will allow the redevelopment of the Gaza Strip, has been branded ethnic cleansing by rights groups, international bodies and foreign officials.
“By accepting the Gazans who relocate temporarily and voluntarily, a country will get an injection of population that will have an economic benefit that clearly could be significant,” one person familiar with the work told the FT.
“But the countries in the model were not picked based on a knowledge of specific discussions. The idea was to understand the economic issues related to options that President Trump had put on the table.”
A slide deck associated with the plan reportedly envisaged that 25 percent of Palestinians in Gaza would decide to relocate outside the enclave, with a majority not returning.
BCG projected $4.7bn in economic benefits for countries that took in Palestinians during the first four years.
It was reported that BCG – which counts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu among its alumni – became involved with GHF when the US security contractor Orbis engaged the firm to help with a feasibility study for a new aid operation.
BCG was reportedly chosen because of its relationship with Phil Reilly, an ex-CIA officer who works at Orbis. As Middle East Eye first reported, Reilly was a senior adviser to BCG for eight years, until six months ago, when he started Safe Reach Solutions, a for-profit security and logistics company guarding GHF’s aid hubs in Gaza.
The FT has also reported that staff members from the Tony Blair Institute participated in a post-war Gaza project which included plans for a “Trump Riviera” and used financial models developed by BCG.
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Somaliland risks tensions with plan to accept displaced Palestinians from Gaza
Bashir Mohamed Caato
Middle East Eye / August 21, 2025
The unrecognised republic situated on the Horn of Africa is being offered US recognition but experts say any complicity with Israel risks anger at home.
On a warm evening in the bustling streets of Hargeisa, the capital of the self-declared Republic of Somaliland, Mohamed* chews the popular regional stimulant qat while scrolling through his Facebook feed.
A striking headline catches his attention, one that says US President Donald Trump will “look into” the recognition of Somaliland, should it take in Palestinians ethnically cleansed from Gaza.
“I am shocked to hear that,” Mohamed says, his head shaking slowly. “I don’t believe any attempt to bring Palestinians to Somaliland will be possible.”
His opposition is not rooted in hostility towards Palestinians; he has no objection to hosting them but, he clarifies: “Any attempt to forcefully bring them to Somaliland would mean the loss of their homeland.”
Somalis belong to a deeply conservative Muslim society and have long been supporters of the Palestinian cause, especially since the start of Israel’s genocide in Gaza in October 2023.
Mosques in the region regularly offer prayers for the Palestinian people, of whom at least 62,000 have been killed by Israel since the start of the genocide.
Many in Somaliland would gladly travel to Gaza to help the Palestinians there if the means were available, Mohamed included.
A threat to stability
Unlike territory controlled by the Somali government based in Mogadishu, the territory held by Somaliland has enjoyed relative stability since civil war ravaged Somali in the 1990s.
Besides the ethical considerations of expelling Palestinians from their homeland, Mohamed believes bringing Palestinians to the region could disrupt that relative peace.
He cites two threats: the first is the Al-Shabab group, which could use such an unpopular move to rally support and increase recruitment.
And the second is the reaction amongst Somaliland residents themselves.
“If the government of Somaliland ever announced such an intention, people would arm themselves and fight against it,” Mohamed tells Middle East Eye.
Somaliland’s government did not respond to MEE’s request for comment but a recent report by CNN suggests Israel has held discussions with Somaliland over the potential resettlement of forcibly displaced Palestinians from Gaza.
The progress of such plans to a stage where diplomats are holding discussions has irked many Somalis. On social media, many have cautioned Somaliland’s newly elected president, Abdirahman Abdullahi Irro, against seeking international recognition at the expense of Palestinian suffering.
Right groups in Somaliland are also concerned about the possibility.
“Somaliland’s constitution explicitly states that it respects international law,” said Guleid Ahmed Jama, a human rights advocate in Hargeisa.
“Any forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza would not only violate that commitment but could also render Somaliland complicit in the genocide against Palestinians in Gaza,” he added in a conversation with MEE.
“It’s not in the interest of Somaliland, given that it lacks international recognition. Should they proceed with such a move, Hargeisa could also face diplomatic isolation similar to that of Israel.
“Many countries that once sympathised with the Hargeisa cause would likely withdraw their support.”
He agrees with Mohamed that such a move could also incite internal revolts and precipitate significant instability, not only within Somaliland but across the Horn of Africa.
UAE soft power
Cultural, structural and political factors are also perceived as likely concerns.
Dr Abdifatah Ismael Tahir, a research fellow at the University of Manchester, noted that while Somali society has long-standing traditions of hospitality, large-scale settlement of Palestinians would face significant challenges.
“Limited economic opportunities, scarcity of land, and the potential for clan-based tensions are also a key factor,” Tahir notes.
“It could also turn Somaliland into a geopolitical flashpoint, attracting destabilising attention from the Houthis [in Yemen] and other actors.”
Tahir argues that some clans and political actors might resort to violence to protect their territories, particularly if they see the relocation as being driven by external political agendas.
“The UAE is widely regarded as a key advocate for Somaliland’s international recognition as it seeks control of Berbera’s trade routes and countering Djibouti.”
Berbera is the main sea port of the country on the Gulf of Aden and a key attraction for outside powers including the United Arab Emirates.
Abu Dhabi had previously made inroads in neighbouring Djibouti in the hope of developing ports there but is currently involved in a bitter dispute with the country that has forced it to scale back its investments.
Officials in Djibouti accuse the UAE of trying to influence its internal politics through Emirati development projects in the country. Djibouti’s President Ismail Omar Guelleh has described the Gulf state’s behaviour as “disguised colonialism”.
“After its expulsion from Djibouti, [the UAE] has pursued soft power and strategic engagement to diminish Djibouti’s regional influence,” Tahir tells MEE.
According to Israeli media outlets, the UAE and Israel have been working together to establish a stronger footprint in the Horn of Africa by developing military, economic and strategic infrastructure in Somaliland.
Strategic but inadequate for Trump
For more than three decades, Somaliland has actively pursued international recognition for territories under its control, which form the northern half of what is internationally recognised as Somalia.
Despite operating as a de facto independent state for decades, it currently has no recognition internationally.
The proposal to resettle Palestinians ethnically cleansed from Gaza there has consequently come as a surprise to many.
Earlier this month, US Texas Senator Ted Cruz wrote to Trump urging him to formally recognise Somaliland.
The Republican senator said that Hargeisa aims to strengthen ties with Israel and has voiced support for the Abraham Accords.
But Cruz’s optimism might be misplaced.
Omar Mahmood, a researcher at the International Crisis Group with a focus on Somalia, contends that Hargeisa has limited leverage to offer given Trump’s transactional foreign policy style.
“Somaliland will have to offer a good enough deal that Trump sees is clearly in US interests,” Mahmood says.
“The US might push resettling of Palestinians as part of any deal, but that alone is unlikely to be sufficient and would also be politically combustible within Somaliland,” says Mahmood.
Berbera alone, however, might not be enough for a president wary of foreign entanglements, as the US can still access the port facility via arrangements with both Hargeisa and Mogadishu without recognition.
It is widely believed that Berbera remains Somaliland’s most valuable asset in attracting American interest.
According to Faisal Roble, a prominent Horn of Africa analyst, “If the focus is on US interests, Washington can utilise Bosaaso, located on the Gulf of Aden, gateway to the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, offering comparable strategic advantages to Berbera.”
Somaliland also faces a separate threat of encroachment by the Mogadishu government.
Over the years, Somaliland’s total landmass has decreased and the unrecognised state has been reduced to an enclave.
Recently, Somalia’s federal government recognised the Sool and Sanaag provinces, long considered part of Somaliland, as a new regional state aligned with a unified Somalia.
The new state called North-East constitutes approximately 60 percent of Somaliland’s total landmass and its loss is viewed as a significant setback to Somaliland’s quest for recognition.
“The newly formed state will not accept the relocation of Palestinians,” says Roble. “Even the regions remaining under Hargeisa are not likely to accept.”
Bashir Mohamed Caato is a multimedia journalist
