Former Somaliland president demands agreement with Israel be made public

Somaliland’s former president, Muse Bihi Abdi, said authorities must disclose the details of any agreement that led to Israel recognising the territory as an independent country.

In a lengthy self-recorded video address, Abdi, who remains an influential leader in Somaliland due to clan dynamics, stated that Somaliland’s constitution does not permit any action that contradicts Islamic principles. 

He stressed that Somaliland would neither support actions that harm Muslims nor take advantage of the suffering of any Muslim community.

“The government has not yet disclosed what was agreed upon with Israel, and they are expected to do so,” Abdi said. 

“If it turns out that the agreement violates our constitution, harms any Muslim, or fails to equally serve our mutual interests, then we will speak out about it.”

He further emphasised that Somaliland’s constitution strictly prohibits any measure that undermines Islam or harms Muslims. 

Abdi, a former Somalia air force officer during the era of military rule, previously condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza while serving in office.

“Our constitution does not allow anything that harms Muslims or goes against our religion. Any such action would be unconstitutional, and we categorically reject it,” he added in his video address.

The former president, who was defeated in Somaliland’s most recent election, is the highest-ranking Somaliland politician so far to publicly call for the disclosure of the agreement with Israel.

Israel is the only UN member state to recognise Somaliland as a country independent from Somalia.

The 26 December announcement was condemned by various African and Muslim-majority countries.

Details of the agreement

Although Somaliland hasn’t publicly disclosed its agreement with Israel, Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has repeatedly said that the deal includes transferring Palestinians from Gaza and setting up an Israeli military base.

In January, a Somaliland official said that the wantaway region could host an Israeli military base.

Israel's Channel 12 news cited Deqa Qasim, an official in Hargeisa’s foreign ministry, as saying that a military base was being spoken about, though it would depend upon the content of an agreement between both sides, subsequent to the opening of mutual embassies.

Following the decision, Somaliland authorities officially denied an accusation by Somalia that their state would accept Palestinians forcibly displaced from Gaza, or that it would host an Israeli military base on its soil. 

However, commentators suggest that Israel would not have recognised Somaliland without securing its own strategic interests, particularly the possibility of establishing a military base to counter Iran and its allies in the strategic Red Sea area.

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Since Israel’s recognition, there has been a debate among Muslim scholars in Somaliland’s Hargeisa over whether the move is acceptable or not, particularly following Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

In late January 2026, Sheikh Mustaf Harun, a prominent and respected Muslim scholar, said that Israel is occupying Palestinian land and so validating that with a diplomatic relationship amounts to serious violation.

Israel’s decision has also drawn immediate attention from both local and regional actors, including the armed group al-Shabab and Houthi movement in Yemen, which has vowed to resist any Israeli presence in Somaliland.

Following Israel's announcement that it would formally recognise the territory as an independent state, thousands of protesters took to the streets rejecting Israel's decision in many cities across Somalia, including the capital Mogadishu and Borama, west of Somaliland.

During a recent visit to Ethiopia, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan rejected Israel’s recognition of Somaliland.

Speaking at a joint news conference in Addis Ababa alongside Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali, Erdogan warned that such a move could further destabilise an already volatile region.

“The Horn of Africa should not become a battlefield for foreign forces,” Erdogan said.

The African Union, which recently concluded its annual summit in Addis Ababa, also condemned Israel’s recognition of Somaliland and called on Israel to retract what it described as a unilateral decision.