Top Somaliland official defends Israel ties amid Arab backlash

Hersi Ali Haji Hassan tells Al Jazeera that Hargeisa had ‘no choice’ but to seek recognition from Tel Aviv after 34 years of isolation.Published On 8 Jan 2026A senior official from Somaliland’s governing party has fiercely defended the breakaway region’s decision to normalise relations with Israel, dismissing widespread condemnation from the Arab and Muslim world as hypocritical.In a heated interview with Al Jazeera Mubasher on Wednesday, Hersi Ali Haji Hassan, chairman of the ruling Waddani party, argued that Somaliland was forced to look to Israel for legitimacy after being ignored by the international community for decades.The comments follow a controversial visit by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar to Hargeisa, the region’s largest city and “capital”, earlier this week – the first since Israel recognised the region’s independence in late December.“We are not in a position to choose,” Hassan told Al Jazeera. “We are in a state of necessity for official international recognition.“There is no choice before us but to welcome any country that recognises our existential right,” he added.‘They ignored us for 34 years’The visit has triggered a diplomatic firestorm. The federal government in Mogadishu, which considers Somaliland part of its territory, condemned the move as a violation of sovereignty. The Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) also issued statements rejecting the “separatist reality”.Hassan, however, brushed off the criticism.“We have been an independent state for 34 years,” he said. “The rejection of the Arab League does not matter to us at all. They did not accept us as a member … and we did not receive any attention from Arab countries.”