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Israel becomes first country to recognise Somaliland

The Independent

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December 27, 2025

Benjamin Netanyahu has piled pressure on Keir Starmer and Donald Trump to recognise a former British protectorate in a bid to take on terrorism in the Middle East.

- DAVID MADDOX

Israel becomes first country to recognise Somaliland

The Israeli prime minister has unilaterally recognised the disputed state of Somaliland, which is seen as crucial in tackling the Houthi threat in the Red Sea and Strait of Aden, where Iranian-sponsored Houthi terrorists have been attacking shipping.

It means Israel is the first country to officially recognise Somaliland after it declared independence 34 years ago in 1991. Only Ethiopia has previously held an agreement with the unrecognised state in the Horn of Africa.

It comes as US President Trump is under pressure to recognise the breakaway African state, which declared independence from Somalia in 1991, after a bitter civil war, with the UK under pressure to follow suit.

Mr Netanyahu, who has launched attacks on the Houthis in the region, said that the decision to recognise Somaliland was “in the spirit of the Abraham Accords”.

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