Somaliland’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday rejected “false claims” by Somalia that Israel’s recognition of its independence was spurred by plans to resettle Gazans or build army bases in the African country.
Hargeisa’s engagement with Jerusalem is “purely diplomatic, conducted in full respect of international law and the mutual sovereign interests of both countries,” the ministry wrote in an English-language X post.
“These baseless allegations are intended to mislead the international community and undermine Somaliland’s diplomatic progress,” it continued, adding, “Somaliland remains committed to regional stability and peaceful international cooperation.”
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud told Qatar’s Al Jazeera outlet on Tuesday that the “strange” Israeli move “was not merely a diplomatic gesture but a cover for specific, high-stakes Israeli strategic objectives.”
Somaliland accepted three conditions in exchange for the recognition, he claimed, saying Hargeisa agreed to take in Palestinians from Gaza, allow the establishment of an Israeli military base on the coast of the Gulf of Aden and join the Abraham Accords peace deal.
Somaliland is a breakaway democracy with more than 6.2 million inhabitants that no U.N. member state or international organization officially recognized until Israel did on Dec. 26.
Somaliland lies across the Gulf of Aden from Yemen, where Israel has been fighting the Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist group, on the opposite shore of the narrow waterway linking the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean.
The country was first named in March as a possible territory that could take in millions of Palestinians as part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to take over Gaza and turn it into “the Riviera of the Middle East.”
Replying in March to a question about taking in Gazans, a top Somaliland officials said its government was “open to discussing anything,” but only with governments that recognize its legitimacy.
Trump expressed interest months ago in recognizing the country, but said after Israel’s Friday announcement that he would need to study the issue, telling the New York Post, “Does anyone know what Somaliland is, really?”
Tammy Bruce, U.S. deputy ambassador to the U.N., has emphasized that Washington’s backing of Jerusalem was not reflective of a policy change on Somaliland itself and that “we have no announcement to make.”
