Israel “will not shy away from political discussions” at an emergency Security Council meeting scheduled for Monday over Jerusalem’s recognition of Somaliland, Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon said on Saturday evening.
“Israel will continue to act responsibly and with discretion in order to strengthen cooperation with partners who contribute to regional stability,” Danon wrote on social media.
The Security Council session follows Israel’s diplomatic recognition of the Republic of Somaliland on Friday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel recognized the self-declared Horn of Africa nation, becoming the first country to do so.
Several regional governments and organizations denounced the decision, which Netanyahu said was made “in the spirit of the Abraham Accords,” including the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar mocked the Palestinian Authority on Saturday evening, writing on X that “the Foreign Ministry of a ‘virtual country’ condemns the recognition of a country that has actually existed for over 34 years.”
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement Saturday saying that the Gulf state “categorically rejects the mutual recognition announcement between the Israeli occupation authorities and the Somaliland region.”
That in turn drew a harsh rebuke from Israeli Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Minister Amichai Chikli, who posted on X that “I categorically reject the recognition of Qatar as a state. Qatar is not a state. It is a family business, a mafia state whose every so-called achievement is the result of despicable bribery and corruption. It finances terror and bloodshed and exports Islamist indoctrination across the West.”
Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Somalia also denounced the rapprochement between Jerusalem and Hargeisa.
Meanwhile, the Israeli flag lit up downtown Hargeisa late Friday as residents of Somaliland’s capital celebrated Jerusalem’s recognition of their sovereignty.
Netanyahu said that he and Sa’ar signed a “joint and mutual declaration” with Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, and invited the latter to visit Israel. “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,” he said.
“Somaliland’s moment has arrived,” the state’s Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Ministry said. “Momentum is building.”
Somaliland’s leadership hailed Israel’s move as a long-sought breakthrough, a historic milestone in its three-decade quest for international legitimacy and a validation of its claim to stable, democratic statehood, according to Hiiraan Online, a Canada-based news site covering Somalia and the Horn of Africa.
Officials in Hargeisa said the decision opens a new chapter for cooperation with Israel in security, development and diplomacy, and signaled plans to deepen ties through expanded partnerships in agriculture, health, technology and the economy.
Somaliland, a democracy, had an estimated 6.2 million residents as of 2024.
