De-escalation Agreement between Yemen Govt, Houthis Paves Way for Economic Talks

The Houthi-held central bank in Sanaa. (Reuters)
The Houthi-held central bank in Sanaa. (Reuters)
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De-escalation Agreement between Yemen Govt, Houthis Paves Way for Economic Talks

The Houthi-held central bank in Sanaa. (Reuters)
The Houthi-held central bank in Sanaa. (Reuters)

The legitimate Yemeni government and Iran-backed Houthi group reached an agreement to de-escalate the economic tensions between them related to banks and the national airline in the hopes of paving the way for comprehensive economic talks between the two parties.

The central bank in the interim capital Aden had withdrawn the licenses of six banks operating in regions held by the Houthis after they had failed to relocate to Aden.

The Houthis retaliated by taking similar measures against banks operating in government-held areas. They also seized four Yemenia Airways planes at Sanaa airport over disputes related to the company’s revenues.

In a statement on Tuesday, United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg said the government and Houthis agreed on several measures to de-escalate in relation to the banking sector and Yemenia Airways.

The parties agreed to “cancel all the recent decisions and procedures against banks by both sides and refrain in the future from any similar decisions or procedures.”

They agreed on “resuming Yemenia Airways’ flights between Sanaa and Jordan and increasing the number of flights to three daily flights, and operating flights to Cairo and India daily or as needed.”

Meetings will be convened to address the administrative, technical, and financial challenges faced by the company, added the statement.

The parties also agreed on “initiating the convening of meetings to discuss all economic and humanitarian issues based on the roadmap.”

The parties requested the support of the UN in implementing their commitments.

Grundberg recognized “the significant role of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in bringing this agreement about.”

He expressed the UN’s “readiness to work with the parties to implement the measures they agreed. He additionally offered that his Office supports communication with the authorities of Jordan, Egypt, and India.”

Grundberg stressed the need “for the parties to collaborate towards an economy that benefits all Yemenis and supports the implementation of a nationwide ceasefire and the resumption of an inclusive political process.”

Commenting on the agreement, the Yemeni government stressed that it aimed to ease the people’s humanitarian suffering, especially in regions held by the Houthis.

It hailed Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for their role in achieving the agreement, saying it reflects their firm stances in support of the Yemeni people.

It welcomed Grundberg’s statement, saying it hopes the deal will lead to “constructive dialogue to end all of the Houthis’ destructive policies against banks and the national economy and currency.”

It hoped the Houthis would also meet their commitments towards the roadmap, starting with resuming the export of oil.

It stressed that the government’s economic reforms aim to empower the central bank in managing monetary policy and protecting depositors and deposits.

Furthermore, the government said the agreement on flights will allow thousands of patients seeking medical treatment to receive it abroad. It will also allow Yemenis seeking work opportunities and students to pursue an education aboard.

This will help ease the burden of the war sparked by the Iran-backed Houthis ten years ago, it remarked.

It called on the international community to assume its responsibilities in applying more pressure on the Houthis so that they can prioritize the people’s interests above those of their backers, who want to drag Yemen and its people towards another war.



Israel’s Retaliatory Responses to Houthis Must Begin by Drawing Intelligence Plan

A person inspects damage at the site where a projectile fired from Yemen landed in Tel Aviv on December 21, 2024 (EPA)
A person inspects damage at the site where a projectile fired from Yemen landed in Tel Aviv on December 21, 2024 (EPA)
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Israel’s Retaliatory Responses to Houthis Must Begin by Drawing Intelligence Plan

A person inspects damage at the site where a projectile fired from Yemen landed in Tel Aviv on December 21, 2024 (EPA)
A person inspects damage at the site where a projectile fired from Yemen landed in Tel Aviv on December 21, 2024 (EPA)

Israel is considering options to respond to repeated attacks fired from Yemen in the past few days, the latest of which was a Houthi missile strike that injured more than a dozen people in Tel Aviv.
But military experts say Israel should first consider an intelligence plan for confronting the new front after it faced significant difficulties in both defending against and responding to the Houthi attacks.
On Saturday morning, Houthis launched a missile that triggered sirens throughout central Israel at 3:44 am. It was the second attack since Thursday.
Israel's military said the projectile landed in Tel Aviv's southern Jaffa area, adding that attempts to intercept a missile from Yemen failed.
“The incident is still being thoroughly investigated,” the army said, adding that following initial investigations by the Israeli Air Force and Home Front Command, “some of the conclusions have already been implemented, both regarding interception and early warning.”
Israeli military experts say the recent Houthi attacks have revealed serious security gaps in Israel's air defense systems.
“The pressing question now is why none of the other of Israel’s air defense layers managed to intercept the warhead,” wrote Yedioth Ahronoth's Ron Ben-Yishai. “The likely explanation is the late detection and the flat trajectory, which prevented the operation of all available defense apparatus.”
He said these incidents might expose a critical vulnerability in the army’s air defense system protecting Israel’s civilian and military home front.
According to Ben-Yishai, two main reasons might explain Saturday’s interception failure.
The first is that the missile was launched in a “flattened” ballistic trajectory, possibly from an unexpected direction.
As a result, Israeli defenses may not have identified it in time, leading to its late discovery and insufficient time for interceptors to operate.
He said the second, and more likely scenario is that Iran has developed a maneuverable warhead.
Such a warhead separates from the missile during the final third of its trajectory and maneuvers mid-flight—executing pre-programmed course changes—to hit its designated target, he wrote.
And while Israel has launched initial investigations into the failure of Israeli defense systems to intercept the missiles, it is now examining the nature, date and location of its response.
When Houthis launched their first missile attack on Israel last Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned them, saying, “The Houthis will learn the hard way.”
But Israeli political analyst Avi Ashkenazi wrote in the Maariv newspaper that Israel should look at reality with open eyes and say out loud that it cannot deal with the Houthi threat from Yemen, and has failed to face them.
Last Thursday, 14 Israeli Air Force fighter jets, alongside refuelers and spy planes, flew some 2,000 kilometers and dropped over 60 munitions on Houthi “military targets” along Yemen’s western coast and near the capital Sanaa.
The targets included fuel and oil depots, two power stations, and eight tugboats used at the Houthi-controlled ports.
But the Maariv newspaper warned about the increasing involvement of Iran in supporting the Houthi forces.
“Iran has invested more in the Houthis in recent weeks following the collapse of the Shiite axis, making the Houthi movement a leader of this axis,” the newspaper noted.
Underscoring the failures of Israel’s air defense systems, Maariv said the “Arrow” missile defense system, Israel's main line of defense against ballistic missiles, had failed four times in a row to intercept missiles, including three launched from Yemen and one from Lebanon.
Yedioth Ahronoth's Ben-Yishai also warned that the threat posed by maneuvering warheads on Iran's heavy, long-range missiles would become existential for Israel should Iran succeed in developing nuclear warheads for these missiles.
Meanwhile, Israel’s Channel 12 said that in recent months, the Middle East has changed beyond recognition.
The channel said that for the first time in more than half a century, a direct and threat-free air corridor has been opened to Iran through the Middle East. Israel will benefit from this corridor to launch almost daily attacks on the border crossings between Syria and Lebanon, it said.
Channel 12 also reported that according to the Israeli military, the new threat-free corridor will help Israel launch a future attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.
“From Israel's perspective, the fall of the Assad regime and the collapse of the Iranian ring of fire are changing the balance of power in the Middle East,” the report added.