Yemen PM to Asharq Al-Awsat: Challenges Are Great, We Will Confront Them

Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik. (EPA file photo)
Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik. (EPA file photo)
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Yemen PM to Asharq Al-Awsat: Challenges Are Great, We Will Confront Them

Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik. (EPA file photo)
Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik. (EPA file photo)

Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik stressed that the new power-sharing government that was announced on Friday will work according to a comprehensive policy to serve the interests of the people.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat shortly after the cabinet was unveiled, he added that the government would also work on uniting national ranks to restore the state and end the Iranian expansionist agenda and its Houthi proxy.

“The cabinet has a clear plan and agenda on how to deal with the current challenges,” he stressed, adding that he was looking forward to the “support of brothers and friends and political, societal and popular forces in Yemen.”

Moreover, he said that the formation of the government was the culmination of efforts exerted by President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi, the Saudi leadership and Saudi-led Arab coalition members.

Abdulmalik hailed in this regard Saudi Arabia for its role in bridging gaps between various Yemeni parties and implementing the Riyadh Agreement.

He also praised the cooperation of all parties that have prioritized national interests above their own and set their sights on the battle for Yemen and its Arab identity against the Iranian and Houthi agenda.

Iran and the Houthis are not only a threat to Yemen, but the entire region and world, warned the premier.

The government will work according to a “different and comprehensive methodology in order to normalize the situation in liberated provinces and unite military ranks to help speed up efforts to restore the state and end the Houthi coup,” he continued.

“We have a clear plan and agenda on how to deal with current challenges,” he stated.

“We are aware that the challenges are great, but we will bravely confront them,” Abdulmalik remarked. “We have prioritized the Yemeni people throughout the country, which has suffered enough. Now is the time for official and popular unity to improve living conditions.”



Israel Says it Will Maintain Control of Gaza-Egypt Crossing

Hamas militants secure aid trucks that arrived the Gaza Strip, in Rafah, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, days after a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel went into effect. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Hamas militants secure aid trucks that arrived the Gaza Strip, in Rafah, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, days after a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel went into effect. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
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Israel Says it Will Maintain Control of Gaza-Egypt Crossing

Hamas militants secure aid trucks that arrived the Gaza Strip, in Rafah, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, days after a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel went into effect. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Hamas militants secure aid trucks that arrived the Gaza Strip, in Rafah, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, days after a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel went into effect. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Israel says it will maintain control of the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip during the first phase of the ceasefire with Hamas.

A statement issued by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu´s office on Wednesday denied reports that the Palestinian Authority would control the crossing.

It said local Palestinians not affiliated with Hamas who had been vetted by Israeli security would merely stamp passports at the crossing. It noted that, under international agreements, this stamp "is the only way Gazans may leave the Strip in order to enter, or be received in, other countries."

According to The AP, the statement said Israeli forces would surround the crossing and that Israel must approve the movement of all people and goods through it. It said European Union monitors would supervise the crossing.

Israel captured the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing last May, forcing it to shut down. Egypt, a key mediator in more than a year of negotiations that led to the ceasefire, has demanded that Palestinians control the Gaza side.

Meanwhile, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Gaza says trucks from the UN, aid groups, governments and the private sector are arriving and no major looting has been reported -- just a few minor incidents.

Nearly 900 trucks of aid entered Gaza on the third day of the ceasefire Tuesday, the United Nations said. That's significantly higher than the 600 trucks called for in the deal.

Muhannad Hadi, who returned to Jerusalem from Gaza on Tuesday afternoon, told UN reporters by video that it was one of the happiest days of his 35-year humanitarian career to see Palestinians in the streets looking ahead with hope, some heading home and some starting to clean up the roads.

In his talks with families at a communal kitchen run by the UN World Food Program and elsewhere, he said, they all told him they need humanitarian assistance but want to go home, to work and earn money.

"They don´t like the fact that they have been depending on humanitarian aid," Hadi said.

Palestinians talked about resuming education for their children and about the need for shelter, blankets and new clothes for women who have been wearing the same clothes for more than a year. He said a shipment of tents is expected in the coming days.