Mogadishu (Somalia Today) — Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has dismissed Israel’s recognition of Somaliland as a “trap”, warning that the move does not amount to genuine recognition and could deepen instability in Somalia and the wider Horn of Africa.
In an interview with the Miisaan Podcast on Dawan Media, Mohamud said Israel’s decision had not changed Somalia’s position that Somaliland remains part of its sovereign territory.
“Somaliland has not received recognition for more than 30 years, and it will not receive it now. This is not recognition. It is a trap,” Mohamud said.
Israel became the first country to formally recognise Somaliland as an independent state on December 26, 2025, signing a declaration of mutual recognition with Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the time that the move came “in the spirit of the Abraham Accords”, the 2020 US-brokered normalisation agreements between Israel and several Arab states.
Hargeisa celebrated the decision as a historic diplomatic victory after more than three decades of failed attempts to secure international recognition.
Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 after the collapse of the central government in Mogadishu, but no United Nations member state had recognised it as an independent country before Israel’s move.
Mohamud said the step had no legal effect and would not alter Somalia’s internationally recognised borders.
He said all countries, except Israel, still regarded Somaliland as part of Somalia and that the broader international position had not shifted.
The African Union, the European Union, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and several regional governments have all reaffirmed support for Somalia’s unity and territorial integrity since Israel’s announcement.
‘We chose dialogue’
Mohamud said successive Somali governments had avoided military confrontation over Somaliland and had instead pursued dialogue, despite years of stalled talks.
“We have chosen dialogue and understanding, not force,” he said, adding that Somalia still believed a political settlement between Mogadishu and Hargeisa remained the best way forward.
Somalia and Somaliland have held several rounds of talks over the years, often with support from regional and international partners, but the process has repeatedly broken down over the central question of sovereignty.
Somaliland argues that its brief independence from Britain in 1960, before its union with Italian Somaliland, gives it a distinct legal and historical claim.
Somalia rejects that argument, saying the union created a single, internationally recognised state whose borders remain inviolable.
The dispute has gained new urgency as the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden become increasingly important to regional security, particularly during the Gaza war, Houthi attacks linked to Yemen and growing competition among Middle Eastern powers in the Horn of Africa.
Israel has presented its move as part of a wider diplomatic and strategic partnership with Somaliland, including cooperation in agriculture, health, technology and the economy.
Somaliland has also said it wants to join the Abraham Accords and open an embassy in Jerusalem, while Israel has moved to appoint diplomatic representation for Hargeisa.
Israel ‘approached us’
Mohamud also disclosed that Israel had previously sought formal diplomatic ties with Somalia, but said Mogadishu declined.
“Israel approached us several times and wanted us to establish relations. We told them that the timing was not appropriate,” he said.
He said Somalia’s position reflected humanitarian concerns, human rights and the suffering of Palestinians.
Somalia has long backed the Palestinian cause and has repeatedly rejected any proposal to relocate Palestinians from Gaza to Somali territory or Somaliland.
Mogadishu has said any such proposal would be unacceptable.
“Somalia will not be dragged into wars, political rivalries or strategic agendas that do not serve its national interest,” Mohamud said.
Somali officials have argued that Israel’s recognition of Somaliland reflects not only recognition politics, but also wider Israeli security calculations near the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab, one of the world’s most important maritime corridors.
Israel has denied claims that the move had links to plans involving Palestinians from Gaza and has framed the recognition as a sovereign diplomatic decision.
Mohamud said the issue ranked among the most serious developments facing Somalia and the wider region, warning that it could carry political and security consequences beyond the dispute between Mogadishu and Hargeisa.
He said the federal government would continue defending Somalia’s unity through diplomatic and legal channels, while keeping the door open for talks with Somaliland.
“The position of the federal government has not changed,” Mohamud said. “Somalia’s unity and territorial integrity are not negotiable.”
