Israel–Somalia relations

Israel–Somalia relations

Israel
Somalia

Israel–Somalia relations refers to the diplomatic relations between Israel and Somalia. There are currently no formal diplomatic relations between the two countries because Somalia has never recognized Israel as an independent state.[1]

History

Israel was one of the first countries to recognise the State of Somaliland's brief five-day independence in 1960,[2][3] though the united Somali Republic it immediately merged into did never recognized Israel.[4] Israel later approached Somalia numerous times to establish diplomatic ties, but was repeatedly rebuffed.[5] In 1974, Somalia joined the Arab League and complied with the Arab League boycott of Israel.[6]

During the 1960s, Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie sought support from Israel to counter Somali insurgents fighting for the independence of the Ogaden region and against the Somali Republic which was aiding them.[7][8] High-ranking Israeli police officials helped establish special border police forces in the Ogaden.[9] According to future Israeli PM Yitzhak Rabin, Selassie primarily wanted to discuss security problems related to the Somalis during talks with the Israelis.[10] In a meeting with Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Dayan, Haile Selassie asserted that the Somali nationalist aspiration for a Greater Somalia was driven by Nasserite agitation and expressed hope to the Israelis that the Somali Republic itself would eventually be incorporated into the Ethiopian Empire.[8]

During the Ogaden War between Somalia and Ethiopia from 1977 to 1978, Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Moshe Dayan publicly acknowledged that Tel Aviv was providing security assistance and arms to Ethiopia against the Somalis.[11] Israeli support began after the Derg government led by Mengistu requested weapons, prompting Israel to consult with the United States before delivering arms via cargo planes. Several Arab states also accused Israel of direct involvement in the conflict.[12][13] Israel reportedly provided cluster bombs, napalm and were also allegedly flying combat aircraft for Ethiopia. Israeli Prime Minister Menachim Begin urged American president Jimmy Carter to help repel the Somali's during the war.[14]

After defeating a coalition of warlords and ascending to power in 2006, the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) then the de facto government across much of Somalia, was accused by the United Nations of dispatching 700 troops to fight against the IDF alongside Hezbollah forces during the 2006 invasion of Lebanon.[15][16] While the Islamic Courts had demonstrated serious hostility against Israel and held rallies in support of Hezbollah fighters during the summer of 2006,[17] they called on the UN stop publishing "baseless propaganda". The Israelis claimed that they knew of an Islamic Courts Union presence in Lebanon, while Hezbollah rejected the claims as "incorrect and silly". Observers drew parallels between the UN's allegations and the accusations made by the United States leading up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.[18] During the 2006 invasion of Somalia, the ICU accused Mossad of supporting Somali warlords and assisting the Ethiopian regime change effort.[19]

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly met with the head of the Federal Government of Somalia, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in Nairobi, Kenya in July 2016, which was the first high-level meeting between the two countries.[20] Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed refused to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2017 during a visit to Kenya, at an African Heads of State meeting in Nairobi. Many in Somalia support Palestine and oppose normalization with Israel.[21] However, Somalia abstained for the first time in history in a March 2019 United Nations Human Rights Council resolution calling for Israel's withdrawal from the Golan Heights.[22]

Hassan Sheikh Mohamud returned to the Somali presidency in 2022 and announced that his government would establish diplomatic relations with Israel in the near future. This move was met with mixed reactions, with some praising it as a step towards modernization and development, while others criticized it as a betrayal of the Palestinian cause.[23]

Israel became the first UN member state to formally recognize Somaliland on 26 December 2025. Somaliland had been an unrecognized state after declaring independence from Somalia in 1991 until this decision.[24] The Somali government issued a statement condemning the Israeli government's decision.[25]

See also

References

  1. ^ American Universities Field Staff (1966). AUFS reports: Northeast Africa series. p. 5: "Somalia does not recognise Israel, and generally sides with the Arab cause in the Near Eastern controversy."
  2. ^ Benjamin R. Farley. "Calling a State a State: Somaliland and International Recognition". Emory International Law Review. 24 (2). 780. SSRN 1676428.
  3. ^ Yusuf M Hasan (27 March 2022). "Somaliland: Only Israel Opposed the Kill all But Crows 'Isaaq Genocide', Offers Recognition". Somaliland Sun. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
  4. ^ American Universities Field Staff (1966). AUFS reports: Northeast Africa series. p. 5: "Somalia does not recognise Israel, and generally sides with the Arab cause in the Near Eastern controversy."
  5. ^ G. Bard, Mitchell (31 March 2002). "Israel's International Relations: The Evolution of Israel's Africa Policy". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 2025-12-30. The most overt threat to Ethiopia came from Somalia, which Israel had also approached in the hope of establishing diplomatic ties and by which it had been consistently rebuffed. That predominantly Muslim country, moreover, joined the Arab League, thereby convincing Israel of the need to solidify its relationship with Ethiopia.
  6. ^ "Why Somalia Should Leave the Arab League". HuffPost UK. 28 May 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  7. ^ Connell, Dan (1981). "New Ethiopian Offensive in the Ogaden". Horn of Africa. 3 (4). Meanwhile, the Ogaden people also began to organize armed opposition to the then Ethiopian emperor, Haile Selassie who responded, with American and Israeli help, by violently suppressing Somali nationalism.
  8. ^ a b Erlich 2014, p. 75.
  9. ^ Erlich 2014, p. 80.
  10. ^ Erlich 2014, p. 143.
  11. ^ "Dayan Says Israel is Selling Arms to Ethiopia, but is Not Sending Any Troops or Aircraft". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 8 Feb 1978. Retrieved 2025-12-30. Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan admitted yesterday that Israel sells arms to Ethiopia to be used in its war against Somalia. In an interview with Israel Radio from Zurich, Dayan said he saw no reason to conceal the fact.
  12. ^ Gorman, Robert F. (1981). Political Conflict on the Horn of Africa. Praeger. p. 135. ISBN 978-0-03-059471-7.
  13. ^ Ethiopia-Israel
  14. ^ Lefebvre, Jeffrey Alan (1991). Arms for the horn : U.S. Security Policy in Ethiopia and Somalia, 1953–1991. University of Pittsburgh Press. p. 188. ISBN 0-8229-8533-0. OCLC 1027491003.
  15. ^ "U.N. Says Somalis Helped Hezbollah Fighters (Published 2006)". The New York Times. 2006-11-15. Archived from the original on 2025-12-08. Retrieved 2025-12-30.
  16. ^ Kelemen, Michele (2006-11-15). "U.N. Report Ties Somali Islamists to Hezbollah". NPR. Retrieved 2025-12-30.
  17. ^ "Thousands in Somalia rally for holy war". Hiiraan Online. Associated Press. 11 August 2006. Retrieved 2025-12-30. More than 2,000 people gathered after Friday prayers for a pro-Lebanon rally organized by Mogadishu's new fundamentalist rulers, calling for holy war
  18. ^ McGregor, Andrew (21 November 2006). "Accuracy of New UN Report on Somalia Doubtful". Terrorism Focus. 3 (45). Jamestown Foundation.
  19. ^ Mahmud, Khalid (30 November 2006). "Somalia's Islamic Courts Claims Israeli Agents Helping Ethiopia Prepare Attack". Asharq Al-Awsat. Retrieved 2025-12-31.
  20. ^ Ahren, Raphael (5 July 2016). "Somalia's president recently held first-ever meeting with Israeli PM". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
  21. ^ "Somali president refusing to meet Israel's Netanyahu". Middle East Monitor. 5 December 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  22. ^ Berman, Lazar (22 May 2022). "Somali leader who met Netanyahu returns to power, and some see hope of normalization". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
  23. ^ Staff, ToI (9 July 2022). "Report: Somali president plans talks with parliament on possible ties with Israel | The Times of Israel". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  24. ^ Greyman-Kennard, Danielle (26 December 2025). "Israel, Somaliland establish ties with diplomatic agreement". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 26 December 2025.
  25. ^ "Israel recognises Somaliland as independent state, Netanyahu says". www.bbc.com. 26 December 2025. Retrieved 27 December 2025.
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