Somaliland’s president secretly met Netanyahu and Mossad chiefs months before Israel became the first UN state to recognize Somaliland, a report says
Jerusalem / Hargeisa — Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi quietly traveled to Israel in October, holding high-level meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mossad Director David Barnea, and Defense Minister Israel Katz nearly two months before Israel formally recognized Somaliland as an independent state, according to a report by Israel’s Channel 12.
The previously undisclosed visit provides new insight into the diplomatic groundwork behind Israel’s decision on Friday to become the first United Nations member state to recognize Somaliland, a self-governing territory in the Horn of Africa that restored independence in 1991 but has remained unrecognized internationally for more than three decades.
According to Channel 12, the visit was conducted in strict secrecy, with no public acknowledgment by either side—an indication of the political sensitivity surrounding Somaliland’s status and Israel’s strategic calculations.
“Contacts between Israel and Somaliland have been taking place secretly for several months. Foreign Minister Sa’ar recently met with the Somaliland president’s entourage in a third country. Since then, secret contacts have taken place that included mutual visits by senior officials in both countries,” said the report by Channel 12.
Quiet Diplomacy, Strategic Motives
Israeli officials told Channel 12 that initial contacts between Jerusalem and Hargeisa emerged amid discussions over the possible resettlement of Palestinians from Gaza to Somaliland, an idea that surfaced publicly in August and was swiftly rejected across the Arab world. The broadcaster reported, however, that those talks quickly evolved into broader strategic engagement.
“What began as a narrow and controversial discussion developed into a much wider strategic relationship,” one Israeli official was quoted as saying.
From Israel’s perspective, Somaliland’s geography is central. Sitting along the Gulf of Aden near one of the world’s busiest maritime chokepoints, Somaliland lies across from Yemen, where Iran-backed Houthi forces have repeatedly targeted commercial shipping and regional interests.
“From a regional security standpoint, Somaliland offers Israel proximity, visibility, and potential logistical depth near Yemen,” said Michael Horowitz, a security analyst at Le Beck International and former adviser to the Israeli Defense Ministry. “In the current Red Sea and Gulf of Aden environment, that matters enormously.”
Another regional security expert, Dr. Elisabeth Kendall, director of the Girton College Centre for the Study of the Middle East at the University of Cambridge, said Israel’s move reflects a wider recalibration.
“This is about maritime security, intelligence access, and countering Iranian influence,” Kendall said. “Recognition gives Israel a foothold—political and symbolic—in a region where alliances are rapidly shifting.”
Netanyahu Formalizes Recognition
Israel’s recognition was formalized on Friday through a declaration signed by Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, alongside President Irro. Netanyahu framed the decision as a strategic and diplomatic breakthrough, citing cooperation in agriculture, health, technology, and security.
Somaliland’s government welcomed the move as historic. “This recognition affirms Somaliland’s long-standing commitment to peace, stability, and partnership,” Irro said in a statement.
Somaliland, a former British protectorate, briefly achieved independence in June 1960 and received international recognition before entering a voluntary union with Italian-administered Somalia days later, but that union have never been ratified legally. It reasserted independence in 1991 following the collapse of Somalia’s central government.
Legal Debate Inside and Outside Israel
Despite the celebratory tone in Hargeisa, the decision has triggered debate inside Israel and abroad. Channel 12 reported that a senior Israeli official, speaking anonymously, warned that recognizing Somaliland undermines Israel’s long-standing opposition to unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state.
“The international community still considers Somaliland part of Somalia,” the official said, according to the report. “Israel is now exposed to accusations of double standards.”
International law experts say the tension reflects a broader clash between legal doctrine and political practice.
“Recognition is ultimately a political act, not a judicial one,” said Professor James Crawford, former judge at the International Court of Justice, in earlier commentary relevant to similar cases. “States often invoke international law selectively when it aligns with strategic interests.”
More directly, Professor Martin Dawidowicz, an international law scholar at the London School of Economics, said Somaliland presents a legally unusual case.
“Somaliland’s claim is not comparable to most secessionist movements,” Dawidowicz said. “It was a recognized state in 1960, and the legality of its union with Somalia is contested. That makes the legal debate far more complex than many governments publicly acknowledge.”
Regional Backlash and Strategic Risk
Israel’s recognition has drawn swift condemnation from Somalia, Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the African Union, the Arab League, and the Gulf Cooperation Council, all of which argue that the move violates Somalia’s territorial integrity and risks destabilizing the Horn of Africa.
Somalia’s government has called the recognition “null and void,” warning that it could exacerbate insecurity across the Red Sea corridor.
Yet analysts caution that the backlash may be more diplomatic than practical.
“Most of these actors oppose recognition because of precedent, not because they expect Somaliland to disappear,” said Rashid Abdi, Horn of Africa analyst at Sahan Research. “The reality on the ground is that Somaliland has functioned as a separate state for more than 30 years.”
For Israel, the secret October visit underscores how the recognition was not a sudden gesture but the culmination of months of discreet engagement—one that may reshape regional alignments even as it intensifies diplomatic friction.
“Israel calculated that the strategic benefits outweighed the political cost,” Abdi said. “Whether that calculation holds will depend on how far other states are willing to push back.”
