Israel’s recognition of Somaliland ‘strange, unexpected’: Somali president

EXCLUSIVE

Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the president of Somalia, claimed that the recognition of Somaliland by Israel may have an impact on Gaza’s Palestinians.

No country in the world has recognized the secession issue, Mohamud said in an exclusive interview from Istanbul, Turkiye, on Tuesday. “Somaliland has been claiming it for a long time, over the past three decades.

The Somali leader continued, “We’ve been trying to bring the country back together in a peaceful manner.” So it was unexpected and strange that Israel suddenly intervened and declared, “We recognize Somaliland,” after 34 years.

Israel became the first and only nation to formally recognize Somaliland, a separatist region in northwest Somalia that borders the Gulf of Aden, as of last week.

According to Somali intelligence, the country has accepted three Israeli demands in exchange for Israeli recognition, including the establishment of an Israeli military base off the Gulf of Aden and the signing of the Abraham Accords. A series of pacts that restore normalcy between Israel and several Arab nations are the subject of the agreements. The agreements have been signed by the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan.

Mohamud added that Somalia has intelligence that indicates that Israel is already operating in the area and that its recognition of the region is merely a covert normalization of what was already happening.

The Somali leader said that Israel will use force to force Palestinians to relocate to Somalia and that its presence there is not peaceful.

Prior to a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, the administration of US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan stated that “no one will be forced to leave Gaza, and those who want to do so will be free to do so and to return.”

Israel has reportedly continued to look for ways to evacuate Palestinians from the besieged and occupied territory, including through enigmatic flights to South Africa, which has formally accused Israel of genocide in Gaza.

According to Mohamud, Israel is also attempting to control strategically significant waterways that connect crucial commercial and economic-critical seas, such as the Red Sea, Gulf, and Gulf of Aden.

The leaders of the Somalia and Turkey both warned that Israel’s recognition of the breakaway region might lead to agissent in the Horn of Africa during a press conference in Turkiye on Tuesday.

Before Israel changed its position last Friday, Somaliland officially proclaimed independence from Somalia in 1991 but had failed to do so with any other member states.

At a Monday emergency meeting in New York, members of the UN Security Council swiftly condemned Israel’s action.