UK Somaliland Diaspora Unmoved by Israel’s Recognition of Somaliland

[Deeq A.]

Somaliland Diaspora Community Welcomes Cardiff Council’s Recognition of Somaliland.

Cardiff (Comment) — I have read the comment on the muted response from the Somaliland diaspora in the United Kingdom to the recognition of Somaliland by Israel. Cardiff, where I live, is one of the three UK cities with a large Somaliland diaspora, and yet the support shown by the diaspora for the unilateral recognition by Israel is lukewarm.

Cardiff Council recognised Somaliland in 2015, one year after Sheffield City Council passed a motion to recognise Somaliland. Liverpool City Council recognised Somaliland in 2024.

These three city councils oppose the Israeli forces in the occupied territories in Palestine. Sheffield City Council was the first to draw attention to a “plausible genocide” in Gaza and called on the British Government to halt weapons sales to Israel. In 2024, Cardiff Council voted to divest its pension fund from companies accused of complicity in the Gaza conflict. In January 2024, Liverpool City Council passed a motion calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and a two-state solution.

Last week, a  councillor in Cardiff phoned me to ask why the Somaliland government accepted a recognition  from Benjamin Netanyahu, whom the International Court of Justice accused of war crimes. “Even Ehud Olmert, the former Israeli Prime Minister, said that war crimes happened in Gaza,” said the councillor. The councillor wondered why Somaliland political leaders remain indifferent to Israeli comparisons of Somaliland with Palestine, which Netanyahu supporters describe as a “virtual state”.

It is noteworthy that the United Kingdom recognised Palestine. The Palestinian Embassy opened in London last week. The recognition of Somaliland by Israel might have made sense in 2022, before the Gaza conflict and the subsequent documented genocide. I remember the President of Somaliland, Abdirahman Mohamed  Abdullahi, opposing the maritime Memorandum of Understanding of his predecessor, Muse Bihi Abdi, signed with Ethiopia in January 2024, to the extent that the current Somaliland Foreign Minister, Abdirahman Dahir Adan, said in 2024: “We will not go to hell for recognition.” Yet, the decision by President Abdirahman will make Somaliland’s image forever paired with the genocide Israel committed in Gaza. The USA, the European Union and the African Union subscribe to the standard policy of achieving secession through talks with the Federal Government of Somalia. The talks, prolonged though they were, yielded benefits. African Union member states oppose the recognition of Somaliland by Israel. Israel may weaponise this approach to pressure any African country that is dealing with a secessionist movement or managing ethnic diversity within its population.

 © D. A. M. Ali, 2026