Israel announced on Friday that it recognizes Somaliland as an “independent and sovereign state.” The countries will establish diplomatic relations, a statement said.
Condemnation quickly came from, among others, the EU, the African Union and individual countries such as Somalia, Turkey and Egypt.
Somalia's Foreign Minister Ali Omar called the recognition a "state aggression" and accused Israel of wanting to move Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Somaliland.
It is widely known, Ali Omar told Al Jazeera.
Earlier this year, Israeli and American sources told the AP that such a plan existed. It has since been scrapped, but was part of US President Donald Trump's plans to relocate the population of war-torn Gaza.
Somaliland in northwestern Somalia, with a strategic position on the Gulf of Aden, declared itself an independent republic in 1991. The secession has never been recognized by the outside world.
