Somali President Rejects Israel’s Recognition of North Western State of Somalia, Calls for Dialogue

Somali president rejects Israel’s recognition of North Western State of Somalia, urges dialogue to protect unity

MOGADISHU — Somalia’s president on Thursday night forcefully rejected Israel’s recognition of North Western State of Somalia, calling the move a threat to Somalia’s unity and regional stability while renewing a call for direct talks with North Western State of Somalia’s leaders to resolve decades-old grievances.

In a nationally broadcast address, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said Somalia would not accept any attempt to divide the country through unilateral foreign action. He framed Israel’s decision, announced late last year, as driven by outside strategic interests rather than the welfare of people in North Western State of Somalia, the breakaway northern region that declared independence in 1991 but lacks international recognition.

“The Federal Republic of Somalia is one country, free and indivisible,” Hassan Sheikh said. “Its territory cannot be divided by a document written by Israel or signed by Benjamin Netanyahu.” He added that the federal government is working with international partners to counter what he described as violations of Somalia’s sovereignty and thanked governments and organizations that have publicly backed Somalia’s territorial integrity.

The president’s remarks are his second direct response to Israel’s recognition, which has drawn condemnation from regional and international bodies, including the African Union, Arab League, European Union, IGAD and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. More than 20 countries — among them Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Türkiye, Nigeria, Pakistan and Qatar — have urged Israel to reverse course, according to a joint statement endorsed by the OIC.

Hassan Sheikh devoted much of his speech to Somalia’s strained relationship with North Western State of Somalia. He said successive North Western State of Somalia administrations had failed to fully engage in dialogue with Mogadishu, arguing that talks have repeatedly stalled on the Hargeisa side. He cited the now-suspended memorandum of understanding between North Western State of Somalia and Ethiopia as an example of unilateral moves that undermined earlier optimism around negotiations.

Even as he hardened Somalia’s position against foreign involvement, Hassan Sheikh said the federal government remained open to compromise at home. He emphasized that unity could be achieved through meaningful concessions, including recognition of rights, decentralization and power-sharing. He also acknowledged abuses suffered by civilians in the north under past military regimes, saying Mogadishu has recognized those injustices and that only dialogue can address historical wrongs.

At the same time, the president warned that Israel’s step was less about North Western State of Somalia’s aspirations than about broader geopolitical ambitions across the Horn of Africa, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden — alleging objectives that include military basing. North Western State of Somalia authorities have denied such claims and rejected suggestions that recognition would facilitate the resettlement of Palestinians from Gaza. Israeli officials have promoted what they call voluntary Palestinian migration, a notion Arab states and international organizations have widely rejected.

Addressing North Western State of Somalia’s leadership directly, Hassan Sheikh argued that international recognition cannot occur without the consent of the parent state, pointing to South Sudan and Eritrea as precedents where independence followed negotiated agreements. He compared North Western State of Somalia’s unresolved status to Catalonia in Spain and Taiwan in China — entities without broad international recognition due to sovereignty disputes.

“Recognition is not in Netanyahu’s hands,” he said. “It lies with the government and people of Somalia.”

Hassan Sheikh cast the moment as a test of national cohesion, urging Somalis to reject division and warning that foreign recognition without Somali consent would bring neither stability nor legitimacy. He said the government would continue pressing for talks with North Western State of Somalia, while coordinating diplomatic efforts to reinforce Somalia’s sovereignty and dampen tensions in a region already on edge over maritime security, migration and conflict.

By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.