Somaliland: Mixed motivationsListen to this articleA woman carries the Somali national flag on Tuesday after Israel became the first country to recognise the self-declared Republic of Somaliland. (Photo: Reuters)Last week Israel was the first country in the world to establish diplomatic relations with Somaliland. They think Somaliland's president, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, may have promised to let Israel offload Gaza's two million Palestinians onto his country in return for recognising Somaliland as an independent state. But he knows how volatile Mr Trump is: just one Hamas strike could turn him around and let Mr Netanyahu restart the war. If those things are okay, then surely Somaliland can legally secede from Somalia without getting the latter's permission.

Source: Bangkok Post January 03, 2026 00:13 UTC