Somalia and Israel

How do Somalia and Israel relate today?

Somalia and Israel have no diplomatic relations. Somalia has never recognised the State of Israel (The Times of Israel, 7 July 2016).

On 26 December 2025, Israel recognised Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state, the first UN member state to do so (Africanews, 26 December 2025). Somalia's foreign ministry said any such recognition is "null, void, and without any legal or political effect" (Somalia Ministry of Foreign Affairs, press statement).

Since then, the two sides have exchanged ambassadors. Somaliland opened an embassy in Jerusalem on 15 June 2026 (The Times of Israel, 15 June 2026). Israel's ambassador presented his credentials in Hargeisa in late October 2026, when the cornerstone of an Israeli embassy was laid (Al Jazeera, 1 November 2026).

When did contact begin?

British Somaliland became independent as the State of Somaliland on 26 June 1960 and joined the former Italian trust territory on 1 July 1960 to form the Somali Republic. Israel says it recognised the State of Somaliland in those five days. Israel's foreign minister Gideon Sa'ar said in Hargeisa that Israel "recognized Somaliland on June 26, 1960, and again on December 26, 2025" (Somaliland Chronicle, 6 January 2026).

In 2010, foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor told Haaretz that Israel had been the first state to recognise Somaliland in 1960 and was ready to do so again (UNPO, 2010). The united Somali Republic did not recognise Israel (The Times of Israel, 7 July 2016).

Somalia joined the Arab League on 14 February 1974, the first member whose people are not Arab (ALECSO, Somalia member profile; Library of Congress, Somalia country study).

Who are the ambassadors and envoys?

There are no ambassadors between Somalia and Israel. Between Israel and Somaliland:

• Dr Mohamed Hagi (Mohamed Omar Hagi Mohamoud), Somaliland's first ambassador to Israel. Israel's foreign ministry accepted his appointment in February 2026, noting he had helped build the relationship through 2025 as an adviser to the president (Somali Guardian, February 2026). President Isaac Herzog received his credentials on 18 May 2026 (The Times of Israel, 19 May 2026).
• Michael Lotem, Israel's first ambassador to Somaliland, non-resident, named in April 2026. He had served as ambassador to Kenya, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan (Al Jazeera, 26 April 2026; Al Jazeera, 1 November 2026).

Missions:

• Embassy of Somaliland in Jerusalem, in the Har Hotzvim technology park, opened 15 June 2026 (The Times of Israel, 15 June 2026).
• Embassy of Israel in Hargeisa: cornerstone laid in late October 2026 (Al Jazeera, 1 November 2026).

Who built the tie?

• Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, signed the recognition on 26 December 2025 and phoned Somaliland's president during the signing (Africanews, 26 December 2025). He signed a joint declaration with Somaliland's president in Jerusalem on 15 June 2026 (Dawan Africa, 15 June 2026).
• Gideon Sa'ar, Israel's foreign minister, co-signed the December 2025 declaration (Ynetnews, December 2025). He met Somaliland's president in secret at the foreign ministry in October 2025, two months before recognition (The Times of Israel, 15 June 2026). He visited Hargeisa on 6 January 2026 (Al Jazeera, 6 January 2026).
• Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi (Irro), Somaliland's president since 2024, signed the mutual declaration and made the first state visit to Israel on 14 to 18 June 2026 (Al Jazeera, 27 December 2025; Garowe Online, 14 June 2026).
• Abdirahman Dahir Adam, Somaliland's foreign minister, and Khadar Hussein Abdi, minister of the presidency, took part in the talks with Sa'ar in Hargeisa (The Citizen, January 2026).
• Isaac Herzog, Israel's president, hosted Somaliland's president on 14 June 2026 and received Ambassador Hagi's credentials (The Times of Israel, 15 June 2026).
• Israel Katz, Israel's defence minister, said the two sides had cooperated on secret operations for years (Al Jazeera, 1 November 2026).
• Ibrahim Egal, Somaliland's president, wrote to Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995 seeking ties, a letter cited by Israel's foreign ministry in 2010 (UNPO, 2010).
• Yigal Palmor, Israel's foreign ministry spokesman, stated in 2010 that Israel was ready to recognise Somaliland (UNPO, 2010).
• Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Somalia's president, was reported by The Times of Israel in 2016 to have met Netanyahu. Somalia's government denied that any meeting took place, and Netanyahu neither confirmed nor denied it (The Times of Israel, 7 July 2016).
• Save a Child's Heart, an Israeli medical charity, has treated 49 children from Somaliland at Wolfson Medical Center since 2004. The link began when a Somaliland diplomat in Ethiopia sought heart surgery for his child (JNS).

What agreements have they signed?

Somalia and Israel have signed no agreements. Between Israel and Somaliland:

• 26 December 2025: joint and mutual declaration of recognition and diplomatic relations, signed by Netanyahu, Sa'ar and President Abdullahi (Ynetnews, December 2025). Netanyahu said it was made "in the spirit of the Abraham Accords initiated by President Trump" (Ynetnews).
• 15 June 2026: a cooperation declaration covering the economy, security, technology, investment and social development, signed during the state visit (Dawan Africa, 15 June 2026). Somaliland's Council of Ministers approved it in early July 2026, subject to parliament (AllAfrica, 3 July 2026).

Which leaders have visited?

• July 2016: The Times of Israel reported a meeting between Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Netanyahu; Somalia denied it (The Times of Israel, 7 July 2016).
• October 2025: President Abdullahi met Sa'ar in secret at Israel's foreign ministry (The Times of Israel, 15 June 2026).
• 6 January 2026: Sa'ar in Hargeisa, the first official visit by an Israeli cabinet minister. Both sides said they would open embassies (Al Jazeera, 6 January 2026).
• 18 May 2026: Ambassador Hagi received by President Herzog (The Times of Israel, 19 May 2026).
• 14 to 18 June 2026: President Abdullahi's state visit, with Herzog, Netanyahu and Sa'ar, and visits to the Knesset and Yad Vashem (Garowe Online, 14 June 2026).
• Late October 2026: Ambassador Lotem in Hargeisa to present credentials (Dawan Africa, 3 November 2026).

How much do they trade?

No trade figures between Somalia and Israel are published in the sources found. In June 2026, Somaliland's delegation met Israeli business leaders on trade, water technology and renewable energy (Garowe Online, 14 June 2026).

How much aid and money has gone in?

Israel's development agency MASHAV travelled with Sa'ar to Hargeisa in January 2026 (Somaliland Chronicle, 6 January 2026). Sa'ar said Somaliland water sector staff would train in Israel (The National, 6 January 2026).

A MASHAV-funded medical delegation screened children in Somaliland, and Save a Child's Heart treated 20 Somaliland patients in 2024 and 19 in 2025 (JNS).

What about security?

In 1978, during the Ogaden War, foreign minister Moshe Dayan said Israel was selling arms to Ethiopia for its war against Somalia, but sent no troops or aircraft (JTA, 8 February 1978). In 2026, defence minister Israel Katz spoke of years of secret cooperation with Somaliland. President Abdullahi said no talks on an Israeli base had been held (Al Jazeera, 1 November 2026). Somalia's government said it will not allow foreign military bases on its territory (Somalia MFA). See Foreign forces in Somalia.

How does Israel deal with Somaliland and the member states?

Israel recognises Somaliland and deals with its government directly, as set out above. Somaliland's three parties, Kulmiye, Waddani and Kaah, issued a joint statement on 30 December 2025 backing the recognition (Horn Diplomat).

After the recognition, Djibouti recalled its diplomats and Somaliland suspended Air Djibouti flights (Somaliland Chronicle, 6 January 2026). No dealings between Israel and the other member states appear in the sources found.

Have there been disputes?

Somalia's stated position. Somalia's foreign ministry "categorically and unequivocally rejects" the recognition and calls Somaliland "an integral, inseparable, and inalienable part" of Somalia (Somalia MFA). On 28 December 2025 Somalia's parliament unanimously declared the recognition null and void. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud called it a "naked invasion" (The National, 28 December 2025).

Somalia called Sa'ar's visit "unacceptable interference" (Algemeiner, 6 January 2026). On 3 November 2026 it called Lotem's accreditation and the embassy cornerstone null and void under the Vienna Convention (Dawan Africa, 3 November 2026).

Israel's stated position. At the UN, deputy ambassador Jonathan Miller said the decision was "not a hostile step toward Somalia" and did not rule out dialogue (Al Jazeera, 30 December 2025). Sa'ar said the recognition was "not directed at anyone" (Algemeiner).

Somaliland's stated position. President Abdullahi called it "a historic moment" and the start of a "strategic partnership" (Al Jazeera, 27 December 2025).

Gaza. In March 2025, US and Israeli officials told AP that Israel had approached Somaliland about taking Palestinians from Gaza (Africanews). Somalia's foreign ministry said it "will never accept to make the Palestinian people stateless" (Somalia MFA).

Reactions of other bodies and states:

• African Union: Commission chair Mahmoud Ali Youssouf said the AU "firmly rejects" any recognition of Somaliland (Al Jazeera, 27 December 2025). The Peace and Security Council called for "immediate revocation" on 6 January 2026 (Algemeiner).
• Arab League: Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit called it a clear violation of international law (Al Jazeera). The League Council said on 28 December that it "constitutes an attack on Arab national security" (The National).
• Gulf Cooperation Council: Secretary-General Jasem Albudaiwi called it a grave violation of international law (Al Jazeera).
• Joint statement: foreign ministers of 21 states and the OIC rejected the decision, among them Egypt, Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and Somalia (The National).
• European Union: backed Somalia's territorial integrity and urged dialogue between Mogadishu and Hargeisa (Al Jazeera).
• United States: the State Department said it recognises Somalia's territorial integrity, "which includes the territory of Somaliland" (The National). President Donald Trump said "no" when asked whether the US would follow (Al Jazeera).
• Turkey: called the recognition a "clear intervention" in Somalia's internal affairs (Ynetnews).
• Al-Shabaab said it would fight any Israeli use of Somaliland (Al Jazeera).

How many Somalis live in Israel?

No count of Somalis in Israel appears in UN or Israeli data found for this page.

Where does Israel stand in the UN and other bodies on Somalia?

At Somalia's request, the UN Security Council met on 29 December 2025 (UN DPPA). Fourteen of the fifteen members condemned the recognition (Al Jazeera, 30 December 2025).

• Somalia: Ambassador Abukar Dahir Osman called it an "act of aggression" (Al Jazeera).
• United States: Deputy representative Tammy Bruce said Israel "has the same right to establish diplomatic relations as any other sovereign state" and that US policy had not changed (Al Jazeera).
• China: Ambassador Sun Lei said China "opposes any act to split" Somalia (Al Jazeera).
• Arab League: envoy Maged Abdelfattah Abdelaziz rejected forced displacement of Palestinians and the use of northern Somali ports for military bases (Al Jazeera).

In April 2026 a joint statement by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey, Algeria, Palestine, Jordan and others called Israel's naming of an envoy to Somaliland a "flagrant violation" of Somalia's sovereignty (Garowe Online, 18 April 2026).

Related pages

• Somaliland, 1991 to 2026
• British Somaliland, 1884 to 1960
• Independence and union, 26 June to 1 July 1960
• Ogaden War, 1977
• Foreign forces in Somalia