How Trump, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and others reacted to Israeli recognition of Somaliland Israel 's decision to become the first country to recognise the breakaway region of Somaliland has been condemned by a string of countries, while the US president said he was not ready to immediately follow in Israel's footsteps. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, announced on Friday that he had signed a mutual declaration to recognise Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state. Somaliland has been part of the unified Somali Republic since 1960, but declared its independence in 1991 and established a de facto state. Although it has had unofficial diplomatic relations with several countries, its sovereignty had not been recognised by any permanent UN member state until this week. US President Donald Trump told the New York Post that the US was looking into the issue. Read more: How Trump, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and others reacted to Israeli recognition of Somaliland