Yemen’s Parliament issued a statement emphasizing that the US, the UK, and Israel should be placed at the “top of the global terrorism list” in response to Washington listing Yemen Ansarallah on its own designated terror list last week.
In a retaliatory move against the recent designation of Ansarallah as a terrorist organization by the United States, Yemen’s Parliament issued a strong statement, asserting that the US, the UK, and Israel should be placed at the “top of the global terrorism list.” Al-Maseerah TV reported on January 21st that members of the Parliament criticized the irony of the US labeling its adversaries as terrorists while being accused of fostering global terrorism. The statement emphasized the inclusion of the Israeli occupation entity and the US and British regimes at the forefront of the global terrorism list, citing alleged crimes of genocide against the Palestinian people.
Ansarallah leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi condemned the US decision, dismissing it as a move aimed at defending Israel’s actions. He stated, “The American attacks and classifications have no significance and are a step that occurs solely in the context of defending Israel’s crimes.”
Tensions between Ansarallah-led armed forces and Israel escalated in November when Yemen initiated the targeting of Israeli-linked ships in the strategically vital Bab al-Mandeb strait. This was in response to Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza, which Yemen claims resulted in the deaths of approximately 25,000 Palestinians, labeling it as genocide. Despite these attacks, commercial ships and non-Israeli-linked vessels continued to navigate the Red Sea.
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Yemen’s Parliament reiterated its commitment to maritime security, clarifying that their targeting is limited to Israeli ships or those heading to occupied Palestinian ports. Accusing the US of seeking to militarize the Red Sea and threaten international navigation security through its alleged alliance, Yemen expressed concerns over the dangers posed to the region.
However, on January 12, the US and UK initiated a bombing campaign targeting Yemen, further escalating risks for maritime shipping and travel through the Red Sea. US officials, as reported by the Washington Post on January 20, indicated that the bombing campaign, targeting Yemen, one of the world’s poorest countries, will continue indefinitely. The officials expressed a lack of clarity on when Yemen’s military capability would be adequately diminished, emphasizing their objective to degrade Ansarallah’s ability to launch attacks by targeting infrastructure and higher-level capabilities.
A diplomat closely involved with the situation stated, “We’re not trying to defeat the Houthis. There’s no appetite for invading Yemen. The appetite is to degrade their ability to launch these kinds of attacks going forward, and that involves hitting the infrastructure that enables these kinds of attacks and targeting their higher-level capabilities.“
