Israel’s recognition shatters Arab narratives as failed states resist accountability, peace, and emerging regional realignments.
A coordinated bloc of Arab and Islamic foreign ministers, joined by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, issued a joint statement on Saturday condemning Israel’s recognition of Somaliland—a move that has clearly unsettled regimes long invested in preserving instability rather than rewarding functional governance.
According to Jordan’s official news agency, the ministers accused Israel of endangering peace in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea region, despite the fact that Somaliland has maintained effective autonomy, internal security, and democratic institutions since breaking away from Somalia in 1991. For over three decades, Somaliland has operated with its own government, currency, security forces, and borders—while Somalia itself remains fractured and plagued by jihadist violence.
The statement predictably invoked “international law” and “territorial integrity,” concepts frequently weaponized by Arab and Islamic blocs to suppress self-determination unless it aligns with their ideological interests. The same actors have remained conspicuously silent on countless internal secessions, occupations, and proxy wars across the Middle East and Africa—revealing selective outrage rather than principled concern.
Notably, the declaration also rejected alleged links between Somaliland’s recognition and Palestinian displacement claims—an accusation repeatedly amplified by the Palestinian Authority despite lacking any factual basis. This reflexive insertion of the Palestinian issue underscores how Arab diplomacy continues to hijack unrelated global matters to perpetuate anti-Israel narratives.
Signatories included foreign ministers from Jordan, Egypt, Iran, Turkey, Pakistan, Qatar, and Yemen—many representing states with poor records on minority rights, internal unity, or democratic legitimacy. In contrast, the Abraham Accords signatories—the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco—deliberately stayed away, signaling a growing split between pragmatic Arab states and rejectionist blocs.
Somalia, currently presiding over the UN Security Council, has requested an emergency session—an ironic move given its inability to exert authority over much of its own territory. Meanwhile, the European Union echoed familiar cautionary language, prioritizing theoretical borders over demonstrated stability.
Israel’s recognition of Somaliland challenges decades of diplomatic stagnation. It sends a clear message: stability, governance, and cooperation—not ideological conformity or Arab pressure—will define legitimate statehood in the new geopolitical order.
