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Head of Houthi Delegation to Asharq Al-Awsat: Peace is Our First Option

Mohammed Abdulsalam sits to the right of the Saudi Ambassador to Yemen, Mohammad Al Jaber, during the Saudi delegation’s visit to Sanaa in April. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Mohammed Abdulsalam sits to the right of the Saudi Ambassador to Yemen, Mohammad Al Jaber, during the Saudi delegation’s visit to Sanaa in April. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Head of Houthi Delegation to Asharq Al-Awsat: Peace is Our First Option

Mohammed Abdulsalam sits to the right of the Saudi Ambassador to Yemen, Mohammad Al Jaber, during the Saudi delegation’s visit to Sanaa in April. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Mohammed Abdulsalam sits to the right of the Saudi Ambassador to Yemen, Mohammad Al Jaber, during the Saudi delegation’s visit to Sanaa in April. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Mohammad Abdulsalam, chief negotiator of the Houthi delegation to Saudi Arabia, said that peace is the group’s first option, expressing his hope that the Riyadh discussions will lead to tangible progress on all humanitarian, military and political matters, in a way that achieves peace and stability in Yemen, neighboring countries and the region.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Abdulsalam noted that the Houthi negotiation team’s visit to the Saudi capital comes in continuation of previous discussions that took place with the Saudi delegation in Muscat and Sanaa.

The Houthi delegation arrived in Riyadh on Thursday evening, accompanied by Omani representatives, as part of efforts to end the war and achieve peace in Yemen.

Asked whether he was optimistic about the results of the current negotiations, Abdulsalam replied: “We are always optimistic... Peace is a basic demand for us and the first option that we are working on.”

For its part, the Yemeni government welcomed the Saudi-Omani efforts, and the UN and international endeavor to push the Houthi militias towards dealing seriously with calls for peace and alleviating the suffering of the Yemeni population.

In a statement on Friday, the government stressed that it would maintain its open approach to all initiatives aimed at reaching a just and comprehensive peace, in accordance with the three terms of reference and in a way that ensures an end to the coup and the restoration of state institutions, and guarantees security, stability and development in Yemen.

On Thursday, Saudi Arabia announced that it had invited a delegation from Sanaa to visit Riyadh, within the framework of the Saudi initiative announced in March 2021.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan welcomed on Friday the first official visit of a Houthi delegation to the Kingdom.

“This is the first official visit by Houthi representatives to Riyadh since the war in Yemen began nearly a decade ago. It comes after nearly 18 straight months of calm that began after a UN-mediated truce first went into effect on April 2, 2022,” he stated.

Sullivan added: “We commend the leadership of Saudi Arabia for this current initiative and thank the leadership of Oman for its important role. We call on all parties to this terrible conflict to further solidify and expand on the benefits of the truce that has brought a measure of peace to the Yemeni people, and ultimately bring this war to an end.”

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Arab World

Arab-Islamic Statement Rejects Link Between Israel’s Recognition of Somaliland and Attempts to Expel Palestinians

People walk along a street before the opening of polling stations for voting in the municipal elections in Hodan district of Mogadishu, Somalia December 25, 2025. REUTERS/Feisal Omar
People walk along a street before the opening of polling stations for voting in the municipal elections in Hodan district of Mogadishu, Somalia December 25, 2025. REUTERS/Feisal Omar
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Arab-Islamic Statement Rejects Link Between Israel’s Recognition of Somaliland and Attempts to Expel Palestinians

People walk along a street before the opening of polling stations for voting in the municipal elections in Hodan district of Mogadishu, Somalia December 25, 2025. REUTERS/Feisal Omar
People walk along a street before the opening of polling stations for voting in the municipal elections in Hodan district of Mogadishu, Somalia December 25, 2025. REUTERS/Feisal Omar

A growing number of countries are rejecting Israel's recognition of Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland as an independent nation, the first by any country in more than 30 years.

A joint statement by more than 20 mostly Middle Eastern or African countries and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on Saturday rejected Israel's recognition “given the serious repercussions of such unprecedented measure on peace and security in the Horn of Africa, the Red Sea and its serious effects on international peace and security as a whole.”

The joint statement also noted “the full rejection of any potential link between such measure and any attempts to forcibly expel the Palestinian people out of their land.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Friday that he, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and Somaliland’s president, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, signed a joint declaration “in the spirit of the Abraham Accords.”

Somalia’s federal government on Friday strongly rejected what it described as an unlawful move by Israel, and reaffirmed that Somaliland remains an integral part of Somalia’s sovereign territory.

African regional bodies also rejected Israel's recognition. African Union Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf said that any attempt to undermine Somalia’s sovereignty risks peace and stability on the continent.

East African governing body IGAD said in a statement that Somalia’s sovereignty was recognized under international law and any unilateral recognition “runs contrary to the charter of the United Nations” and agreements establishing the bloc and the African Union.

The US State Department on Saturday said that it continued to recognize the territorial integrity of Somalia, "which includes the territory of Somaliland.”

Arab World

Italian Authorities Arrest 9 for Allegedly Funding Hamas Through Charities

Palestinian Hamas members secure the area as Egyptian workers accompanied by members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) search for the remains of the last Israeli hostage in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City on December 8, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
Palestinian Hamas members secure the area as Egyptian workers accompanied by members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) search for the remains of the last Israeli hostage in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City on December 8, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
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Italian Authorities Arrest 9 for Allegedly Funding Hamas Through Charities

Palestinian Hamas members secure the area as Egyptian workers accompanied by members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) search for the remains of the last Israeli hostage in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City on December 8, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
Palestinian Hamas members secure the area as Egyptian workers accompanied by members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) search for the remains of the last Israeli hostage in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City on December 8, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

Italian authorities arrested nine people linked to three charitable organizations on suspicion of raising millions of euros in funds for the Palestinian group Hamas, anti-terrorism prosecutors said in a statement Saturday. 

The suspects are accused of sending about 7 million euros ($8.2 million) to “associations based in Gaza, the Palestinian territories, or Israel, owned, controlled, or linked to Hamas,” the statement said. 

Among those arrested was Mohammad Hannoun, president of the Palestinian Association in Italy, prosecutors said, describing him as the “head of the Italian cell of the Hamas organization.” 

The European Union has Hamas listed on its terror list. 

According to Italian prosecutors, who collaborated with other EU countries in the probe, the illegal funds were delivered through “triangulation operations” via bank transfers or through organizations based abroad to associations based in Gaza, which have been declared illegal by Israel for their ties to Hamas. 

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi wrote on X that the operation “lifted the veil on behavior and activities which, pretending to be initiatives in favor of the Palestinian population, concealed support for and participation in terrorist organizations.” 

There was no immediate comment from the suspects or the associations. 

In January 202, the European Council decided to extend existing restrictive measures against 12 individuals and three entities that support the financing of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. 

Arab World

Türkiye Holds Military Funeral for Libyan Officers Killed in Plane Crash

The Libyan national flag flies at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)
The Libyan national flag flies at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)
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Türkiye Holds Military Funeral for Libyan Officers Killed in Plane Crash

The Libyan national flag flies at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)
The Libyan national flag flies at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)

Türkiye held a military funeral ceremony Saturday morning for five Libyan officers, including western Libya’s military chief, who died in a plane crash earlier this week.

The private jet with Gen. Muhammad Ali Ahmad al-Haddad, four other military officers and three crew members crashed on Tuesday after taking off from Ankara, Türkiye’s capital, killing everyone on board. Libyan officials said the cause of the crash was a technical malfunction on the plane.

Al-Hadad was the top military commander in western Libya and played a crucial role in the ongoing, UN-brokered efforts to unify Libya’s military.

The high-level Libyan delegation was on its way back to Tripoli, Libya’s capital, after holding defense talks in Ankara aimed at boosting military cooperation between the two countries.

Saturday's ceremony was held at 8:00 a.m. local time at the Murted Airfield base, near Ankara, and attended by the Turkish military chief and the defense minister. The five caskets, each wrapped in a Libyan national flag, were then loaded onto a plane to be returned to their home country.

Türkiye’s military chief, Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, was also on the plane headed to Libya, state-run news agency TRT reported.

The bodies recovered from the crash site were kept at the Ankara Forensic Medicine Institute for identification. Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc told reporters their DNA was compared to family members who joined a 22-person delegation that arrived from Libya after the crash.

Tunc also said Germany was asked to help examine the jet's black boxes as an impartial third party.