Zein Khalil
14 June 2026•Update: 16 June 2026
Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi on Monday inaugurated the breakaway region’s embassy in Jerusalem and signed a “strategic declaration of cooperation” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to Israeli media reports.
Israel’s Channel 12 reported that Abdullahi opened the diplomatic mission alongside Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar during his first publicly announced visit to Israel.
The broadcaster said the Somaliland mission joins seven other foreign diplomatic representations operating in Jerusalem, including those of the United States, Guatemala, Honduras, Kosovo, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay and Fiji.
Saar said on X that he and Abdullahi had inaugurated the mission in Jerusalem, describing it as the eighth foreign diplomatic representation in the city and the third opened during his tenure as foreign minister.
Meanwhile, Channel 15 reported that Netanyahu and Abdullahi signed what it called a “strategic declaration of cooperation,” without immediately providing further details.
Earlier Monday, Saar revealed that Abdullahi had paid a secret visit to Israel in October 2025 and said relations between the two sides have continued to deepen since Israel recognized Somaliland in December 2025.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry quickly condemned the opening of the Somaliland mission in Jerusalem as a “flagrant violation of international law and relevant international legitimacy resolutions.”
In a statement, the ministry said the move represented an attempt by “the Israeli occupation and the authorities of the so-called Somaliland to legitimize their presence on land over which they have no legal or political right.
It stressed that any diplomatic representation established in occupied Jerusalem violates international legitimacy resolutions, particularly UN Security Council Resolutions 476 and 478, which rejected Israeli measures aimed at changing the character and status of the city.
The ministry reiterated its rejection of Israel’s recognition of Somaliland and renewed support for the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Somalia.
It also called on the international community to uphold UN resolutions on Jerusalem and the Palestinian issue and refrain from taking steps “that could help Israel violate international law.”
Israel’s recognition of Somaliland was rejected by Somalia’s federal government and drew widespread condemnation across the Arab and Islamic worlds, which reaffirmed support for Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 but has not received broad international recognition despite maintaining its own administrative, political and security institutions.
*Writting by Sahin Demir in Istanbul.
