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Pro-Saudi Yemen official urges Israel to assist in fight against Houthis, Israeli media says

September 19, 2024 at 12:27 pm

Members of different tribes shout anti-US slogans with guns in hands as they stage a protest against United States’ attacks on Yemen’s Houthis near Sanaa, Yemen in January 14, 2024 [Mohammed Hamoud – Anadolu Agency]

A senior official from the Saudi-backed Yemeni government has called on Israel for military assistance in combating the Houthi-aligned armed forces, according to Israel Hayom newspaper. The unnamed “high-ranking” official, affiliated with President Rashad Al-Alimi’s government, urged the occupation state to provide advanced weaponry to counter escalating Houthi operations, including a hypersonic missile strike on Tel Aviv on Sunday.

In an interview, the anonymous official stressed the importance of overwhelming force, saying: “We’re locked in a conflict with a terrorist militia that only responds to lethal force when challenged. It’s high time the global community shakes off its complacency and backs our troops on the ground. Only then can we eradicate this terrorist outfit, which is cut from the same cloth as ISIS [Daesh] and Al-Qaeda.”

The Houthi-allied military, who have also been stepping up naval operations in the Red Sea and other strategic waterways to pressure an end to the Gaza war, continue to pose a threat to the occupation state and its western allies.

OPINION: Underestimating Yemeni resolve, Israel opens up a southern front

Despite attempts by the US and its allies to counter the Houthi threat, the Yemeni official dismissed the Biden administration’s campaign as “largely ineffective and lacking focus.” Responding to the lack of US support for the UAE-backed southern forces, the source remarked: “I suspect this issue doesn’t resonate with the Americans as deeply as it does with you Israelis. After all, we both bear the brunt of these terrorist factions’ existence.”

The official concluded by calling for a decisive international response, asserting that “only then can we eradicate this terrorist outfit.”

After unveiling the ‘Palestine 2’ hypersonic missile used in the operation on Tel Aviv, the Sanaa government’s Supreme Political Council member Abdulaziz Bin Habtour stated: “The Zionist enemy should expect many military operations, coming by land, air and sea.”

READ: Yemen Houthis claim US offers to recognise Houthi government in return for ceasing attacks