The Federal Government of Somalia has strongly condemned Israel’s accreditation of an ambassador in Hargeisa (capital of the self-declared Republic of Somaliland) and its plans to establish an embassy in the city, describing the moves as violations of Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
In a statement issued on November 3, 2026, Somalia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said Israel had taken the measures without the consent of the federal government, making them “null and void” and without legal effect.
The ministry reaffirmed that Hargeisa and the wider Somaliland region remain an integral and inseparable part of the Federal Republic of Somalia. It argued that establishing diplomatic relations and permanent diplomatic missions on Somali territory requires the consent of the sovereign state, citing the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
The statement follows Israel’s announcement that its ambassador to Somaliland, Michael Lotem, had presented his credentials to Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi at the Presidential Palace in Hargeisa. The ceremony was followed by the laying of a cornerstone for Israel’s planned embassy in the city.
Israel has described the appointment as part of efforts to implement the mutual recognition agreement reached with Somaliland in December 2025. That decision made Israel the first United Nations member state to recognize Somaliland as an independent state since it declared independence from Somalia in 1991.
Somalia, however, continues to reject that recognition, maintaining that Somaliland remains part of its sovereign territory. The federal government says Israel’s latest actions have taken the dispute beyond diplomatic recognition and into the establishment of a permanent diplomatic presence on territory it considers its own.
In its latest statement, Mogadishu also said Israel’s recognition of Somaliland had already been rejected by the African Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the League of Arab States and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
The Somali government warned that actions encouraging fragmentation and disregarding internationally recognized borders could increase tensions in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, areas already facing significant security challenges.
It demanded that Israel immediately reverse the measures and called on other governments and international organisations to reject them. Somalia also said it reserved the right to pursue diplomatic, political and legal measures under international law to defend its sovereignty, national unity and territorial integrity.
The latest dispute adds another chapter to the long-running disagreement over Somaliland’s political status. The territory has operated with its own administration and institutions since declaring independence in 1991, but its claim to statehood remains contested internationally. Somalia continues to insist that any change to the country’s territorial status cannot be determined through unilateral action by another state.
Israel’s move has therefore placed its growing relationship with Hargeisa at the centre of a diplomatic dispute with Mogadishu, with potential implications for relations across the Horn of Africa and the strategically important Red Sea region.
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