Netanyahu’s Somaliland recognition fails to ignite diaspora celebration

[Deeq A.]

Both Israel and UK Lawyers for Israel contrast the Somaliland Administration with Palestine in order to argue that the latter lacks the attributes of statehood

Members of the Somaliland diaspora celebrate 18 May in central London.

London (PP Comment) — Boxing Day 2025 marked the occasion on which, during a Zoom call, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, recognised Somaliland Administration as a republic. Unlike areas under the control of the Somaliland Administration within the Federal Republic of Somalia, the Somali diaspora in the United Kingdom has remained reluctant to openly celebrate this so-called “recognition”. This reluctance is particularly evident in Britain and other countries where Somalis of differing political persuasions co-exist.

The principal reason for the lack of celebration in the United Kingdom is linked both to the British Government’s position on the sovereignty of Somalia and to its position on  a Palestinian state. Britain played a pioneering role in post-transition state-building in Somalia, an initiative from which the secessionist administration has benefited considerably. This process enabled Somaliland Administration to enjoy representation within federal institutions in Mogadishu, while simultaneously behaving as a separate country that even the President of Somalia is unable to visit.

Israel’s unlawful recognition of the Somaliland Administration undermined British-led efforts to empower Mogadishu and Hargeisa to engage in dialogue on the future of the union. The Somaliland Administration subsequently reneged on previous commitments, thereby weakening successive negotiations between the Federal Government of Somalia and the Somaliland authorities. In 2024, the former Somaliland Administration President, Muse Bihi Abdi, signed a maritime Memorandum of Understanding with Ethiopia. His successor, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, went further by securing unlawful recognition from Israel, an act widely seen as an attempt to undermine the two-state solution for Palestine.

Organisations such as UK Lawyers for Israel have drawn attention to Somaliland’s territorial control in order to contrast it with Palestine, which they claim lacks clearly defined territorial sovereignty. In essence, Somaliland Administration leaders have so far opposed the two-state solution that would result in a Palestinian state with a seat at the United Nations. This position directly contradicts that of the African Union, which rejected Israel’s unilateral recognition of the Somali secessionist administration.

Israel’s recognition of the Somaliland Administration has, paradoxically, strengthened unionist sentiment within the Somali diaspora. This also explains why pro-secession Somali diaspora groups are wary of being perceived as aligned with Netanyahu. His Zoom-based declaration on Boxing Day proved to be a political miscalculation, one that ultimately reinforced international support for a two-state solution, with East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

 © Puntland Post, 2026