Israel has defended its formal recognition of the self-declared Republic of Somaliland, Reuters reported on Tuesday. Still, several countries at the United Nations questioned whether the move aimed to relocate Palestinians from Gaza or to establish military bases.
"It is not a hostile step toward Somalia, nor does it preclude future dialogue between the parties. Recognition is not an act of defiance. It is an opportunity,” Israel’s Deputy UN Ambassador Jonathan Miller told the UN Security Council on Monday.
Israel's recognition of Somaliland gives it a potential strategic partner countering Yemen's Houthis, who during the Gaza war traded blows with Israel and whose attacks on vessels in the Red Sea have disrupted shipping there.
The United States Deputy Representative to the United Nations, Tammy Bruce, compared the Israeli recognition of Somaliland as an independent state to the actions taken by several countries to recognize a Palestinian state during a United Nations' Security Council (UNSC) meeting called to discuss the recognition on Monday.
"This council’s persistent double standards and misdirection of focus distract from its mission of maintaining international peace and security," Bruce said during her speech.
The UNSC meeting aimed to address Israel's recognition of Somaliland as an independent state, a move that Deputy UN Ambassador Jonathan Miller described as "not a hostile step toward Somalia, nor does it preclude future dialogue between the parties."
"Recognition is not an act of defiance. It is an opportunity,” he said during his intervention at the UNSC.
Israel announced its recognition of Somaliland on Friday, when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed an official recognition document, making Israel the first UN member state to recognize the nation as a sovereign state.
The Israeli State said last week that it would seek immediate cooperation with Somaliland in the fields of agriculture, health, technology, and the economy.
The former British protectorate hopes Israeli recognition will encourage other nations to follow suit, increasing its diplomatic heft and access to global markets.
UNSC rejects Israel's recognition of Somaliland
The UNSC president, a seat currently held by Slovenia, addressed the US remarks comparing the Palestinian recognition to Somaliland's recognition, saying they are different situations.
Slovenia's UN Ambassador Samuel Zbogar disputed the argument, saying, "Palestine is not part of any state. It is illegally occupied territory ... Palestine is also an observer state in this organization."
He added: "Somaliland, on the other hand, is a part of a UN member state and recognizing it goes against ... the UN Charter."
The 22-member Arab League, a regional organization of Arab states in the Middle East and parts of Africa, rejected "any measures arising from this illegitimate recognition aimed at facilitating forced displacement of the Palestinian people or exploiting northern Somali ports to establish military bases," Arab League UN Ambassador Maged Abdelfattah Abdelaziz told the UNSC.
"Against the backdrop of Israel's previous references to Somaliland of the Federal Republic of Somalia as a destination for the deportation of Palestinian people, especially from Gaza, its unlawful recognition of the Somaliland region of Somalia is deeply troubling," Pakistan's Deputy UN Ambassador Muhammad Usman Iqbal Jadoon said.
Somalia’s UN Ambassador Abukar Dahir Osman said alongside council members Algeria, Guyana, Sierra Leone, and Somalia "unequivocally reject any steps aimed at advancing this objective, including any attempt by Israel to relocate the Palestinian population from Gaza to the northwestern region of Somalia."
Finally, the African Union Ambassador, who acted as an observer in the UNSC meeting, rejected any initiative recognizing “Somaliland” as an independent entity. "Any attempt to undermine Somalia’s unity, sovereignty or territorial integrity is “inconsistent with the main principles of the African Union”, he warned.
He also said that respect for the UN Charter requires “full recognition of Palestinians’ right to establish an independent State, rather than taking unprecedented, provocative steps towards a region on the African continent."
Houthis warn of escalation over Somaliland recognition
Sayyed Abdulmalik al-Houthi, leader of the Houthis terror group, warned on Sunday that the organization will “consider any Israeli presence in Somaliland as a military target,” the Houthi-run Saba News Agency reported.
“We emphasize our firm stand with the brotherly Somali people against Israel, and we will take all possible support measures to assist them,” said al-Houthi, and called the recognition a threat to both Somalia and Yemen.
The Houthis’ leader also accused Israel of aiming for the “further disintegration and fragmentation of other countries.”
Danielle Greyman-Kennard contributed to this report.