Why is Israel maneuvering to shift the Middle East conflagration to Africa?

From David Ben-Gurion—the architect of a state whose foundations remain a subject of debate—to Benjamin Netanyahu, a master of maintaining constant tension, the “periphery doctrine” has remained a cornerstone of Israeli foreign policy.

In strategic studies, words matter. In March 2023, in Paris, Bezalel Smotrich speaks in front of a map that includes Jordan. On July 18, 2024, the Knesset votes against any Palestinian state. On August 12, 2025, on i24NEWS, Netanyahu declares his strong commitment to the vision of Greater Israel and speaks of a “historical and spiritual mission.”

Strangely, events unfolded as expected. Gaza ravaged. The West Bank nibbled away. Southern Syria occupied. Southern Lebanon dotted with positions. Somaliland is added to the list, not as a conquest, but as a strategic depth.

On December 26, 2025, Netanyahu signed the recognition of Somaliland. Israel became the only state in the world to have done so. On December 29, the Security Council met in emergency session. Fourteen out of fifteen members opposed it. Washington alone broke ranks. The African Union (which even called for the immediate revocation of this recognition), the IGAD, the Arab League, the OIC, and the GCC denounced it as a violation. Beijing did as well.

Mogadishu’s rage in the face of Tel Aviv’s desperate hubris

Mogadishu is now thundering with unprecedented doctrinal vehemence. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud refuses to cloak his political pronouncements in the swaddling clothes of diplomatic compromise. Indeed, Somalia’s swift and decisive response to the clandestine negotiations sealed between Tel Aviv and the separatist faction in Hargeisa is swift, acerbic, uncompromising, and devastating: Somalia will not accept an Israeli military presence in Somaliland, asserting that such an intrusion will “under no circumstances” occur on its territory. Israel is clearly attempting to transpose the geopolitical conflagration of the Middle East onto the sovereign soil of Africa. This nefarious maneuver has brutally crossed the Gulf of Aden to strike the Horn of Africa. Mogadishu categorically rejects this imperialist interference, insisting that these maneuvers “will........

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