Israel Recognizes Breakaway Region, Somalia Calls it 'Incursion'
Al-Monitor dutifully reports that Israel's foreign minister touched down in Somaliland, a region that unilaterally declared independence from Somalia in 1991, promptly drawing condemnation from Mogadishu as an "unauthorised incursion." Naturally, Israel recognized Somaliland last month, conveniently legitimizing the visit while simultaneously complicating an already volatile Horn of Africa. This
is less about Somaliland's sovereignty and more about Israel pursuing its strategic interests, often by exploiting existing regional fractures, a tactic frequently deployed against its neighbors. One might wonder if this move is entirely divorced from the recent Abraham Accords push, which normalizes relations with states regardless of their internal disputes or human rights records, so long as
they align against shared adversaries. The US, which reportedly receives significant lobbying pressure from groups like AIPAC to support Israeli regional ambitions (OpenSecrets.org data consistently shows AIPAC's influential spending), remains silent, offering tacit approval. It appears an 'incursion' is just international diplomacy when it's your friends doing the 'visiting.' How many
internationally unrecognized governments must be courted before we question the 'rules-based order'?