Israel faces backlash at UN over Somaliland recognition amid Gaza population transfer fears

Israel faced sharp pushback at the United Nations after recognising the self-declared Republic of Somaliland, with Pakistan, Arab League states and several Security Council members warning the move could be linked to plans to forcibly transfer Palestinians from Gaza or to expand Israel’s military footprint in the Horn of Africa.

Israel became the first country to recognise Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state on Friday.

The 22-member Arab League, a regional organisation of Arab states in the Middle East and parts of Africa, rejects "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 council.

"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 Somaliland region of Somalia is deeply troubling," Pakistan's Deputy UN Ambassador Muhammad Usman Iqbal Jadoon told the council.

Israel's UN mission did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the remarks or address any of them in its statement at the council meeting.

Analysts say 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.

US President Donald Trump's peace plan for Gaza states: "No one will be forced to leave Gaza, and those who wish to leave will be free to do so and free to return."

"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.

In March, the foreign ministers of Somalia and breakaway state Somaliland said they had not received any proposal to resettle Palestinians from Gaza.

Israel's coalition government, the most right-wing in its history, includes far-right politicians who advocate the annexation of both Gaza and the occupied West Bank and encouraging Palestinians to leave their homeland.

Somalia’s UN Ambassador Abukar Dahir Osman said 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."

Somaliland vs Palestinian state

Deputy US Ambassador to the UN Tammy Bruce said: "This council’s persistent double standards and misdirection of focus distract from its mission of maintaining international peace and security."

In September, several Western states, including France, Britain, Canada and Australia announced they would recognise a Palestinian state, joining more than three-quarters of the 193 UN members who already do so.

Slovenia's UN Ambassador Samuel Zbogar disputed her argument, saying: "Palestine is not part of any state. It is illegally occupied territory ... Palestine is also an observer state in this organisation."

He added: "Somaliland, on the other hand, is a part of a UN member state and recognising it goes against ... the UN Charter."