Name: Whats behind Israels recognition of Somaliland?
Uploaded: 2026-01-03T00:54:05.471Z
Duration: 3 min 38 s
Description: Somaliland declared its independence in the early nineties, but the international community never recognized it as a state. Why is Israel breaking ranks now?

Somaliland declared its independence in the early nineties, but the international community never recognized it as a state. Why is Israel breaking ranks now?

Hargeisa

Israel has become the first country, aside from Taiwan, to recognize Somaliland, a self-declared independent region that broke away from Somalia in 1991. This decision comes after nearly 34 years of Somaliland seeking international recognition and is seen as a significant diplomatic development in the Horn of Africa.

Analysts suggest that Israel's recognition is motivated by the increasing strategic importance of the Red Sea corridor, especially amid ongoing crises in Yemen and Gaza. While Somaliland's president has denied plans to accept displaced Gazans or host an Israeli military base, experts believe the region could serve as a future strategic outpost for Israel.

What's behind Israel's recognition of Somaliland?

Well, for more on this, we can talk now with Samira Guide. She's a senior Horn of Africa analyst with Bakis Insights, a Somalia-based consultancy, and she's also a former security advisor to the prime minister of Somalia. Thanks for being with us. Samira, tell us a little more about Somaliland and the specific region where it's located. What's different about it compared to the rest of Somalia? Thank you so much. Thank you for having me, first of all. And Somaliland, like the story before me just analyzed, is a breakaway region of Somalia. Historically, it was part of Somalia up until 1991, where they declared self-independence when there was a civil war that broke out in Somalia. And since then, they have been more or less self-governing. And for that period of time, almost 34 years now, they've been seeking recognition from countries, from the international community. And this is the first time that any member of the international community has actually come out and recognized them. This is, of course, aside from Taiwan. And the reason why it's so critical at the moment, I would say that it hasn't been so important, is because the Red Sea arena has become very strategic to not just Israel but to many other Western countries and the Gulf states. It's all about that trade corridor and how to secure that trade corridor in light of the crisis in Yemen and what happened with Gaza. Now, Somaliland declared its independence in the early 90s, as you mentioned, but the international community really hasn't recognized it as a state, as you've pointed out. But Israel's decided to break ranks and recognize it. What do you see as the motivation for Israel taking this step right now? You know, Israel had a chance over the past 34 years to do this, and it never did this. And I think the reason why they have taken this time is because there's increasing, especially a disorder and unilateralism globally. That's one thing. But secondly, as I mentioned, that trade corridor has become very critical. And it's also a space where you can actually demonstrate strategic depth. So many other Gulf countries and Western nations have set up bases along that area, specifically in Djibouti. No one has made it into Somaliland, which is seen as a stable, non-hostile entity. And so I think this is a fast step to allowing other countries to also try and access that territory. There's been speculation that Israel would try to send displaced Gazans to Somaliland. Somaliland's president says they won't take in Gazans and there won't be any Israeli military base inside the territory in exchange for this recognition. What else could Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, be interested in, if not those things? I think for Somalis and for most of us analysts, we recognize it first as possibly a base for Israeli forces in future, a base through which they could possibly launch attacks on the Houthis, a space in which they could also compete with the Gulf actors. This is really at the entry to the Red Sea, and it's a place where Israel can really show the other Gulf actors that they're no longer an option and that they do have an option, an ally, just before the Red Sea. So I think it's more about that, but I really do not see a move towards settling displaced Gazans. But the idea about not having a military base, I really doubt that will not come to fruition. Samira, thank you very much. That was Samira Guy of Baliki's Insights.

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