As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets former U.S. President Donald Trump this week at Mar-a-Lago, attention naturally gravitates toward the familiar dossiers: Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the war in Gaza, Hezbollah on Israel’s northern border, and Syria’s slow unraveling. Yet one of Israel’s most consequential recent moves – barely days old – may hover quietly over the discussions, even if it is not formally on the agenda: Israel’s recognition of Somaliland.

Israel’s official recognition of Somaliland may, at first glance, appear to be a marginal step, far removed from the Middle East’s traditional focal points. In reality, it is a calculated strategic move with broad security, geopolitical, and economic implications. It reframes the balance of power around the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa, and it has already triggered sharp reactions from regional actors and terrorist organizations alike.

Somaliland, a de facto republic that has functioned as an independent state since 1991, represents an unusual landscape in a troubled region: stable governance, functioning civilian institutions, and organized security forces. This stands in stark contrast to the surrounding environment of persistent chaos. Somalia views Somaliland as part of its sovereign territory and remains saturated with jihadist terrorism. In the country’s south…