Yemen Govt Warns Houthis Against Holding Country Hostage to Iran’s Agenda

The government meets in Aden on Tuesday. (Saba news agency)
The government meets in Aden on Tuesday. (Saba news agency)
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Yemen Govt Warns Houthis Against Holding Country Hostage to Iran’s Agenda

The government meets in Aden on Tuesday. (Saba news agency)
The government meets in Aden on Tuesday. (Saba news agency)

The legitimate Yemeni government warned on Tuesday the Iran-backed Houthi militias against holding the country hostage to their reckless battles that serve Tehran’s agenda.

It called on them to positively approach peace efforts to stop the unrest in Yemen.

Prime Minister Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak chaired the cabinet meeting that was held in the interim capital Aden.

The government reiterated its strong condemnation of the Israeli attack on Hodeidah port and its violation of Yemen’s sovereignty. The strikes were in retaliation to Houthi attacks on Israel.

The ministers stressed their support for United Nations, regional and international efforts to launch a comprehensive political process that meets the aspirations of all Yemenis and leads to just comprehensive peace based on the three references and UN Security Council resolution 2216.

The cabinet called on the Houthis to return to reason, prioritize the interests of the people above all else, stop avoiding local and popular pressure, cease threats to carry out “catastrophic adventures” and stop exploiting the Palestinian conflict to further their agenda.

The cabinet approved a number of measures, including allowing the Aden Refinery Company to operate in Aden’s Free Zone.

It tasked the ministers of oil and minerals, finance, legal affairs and transportation, the governor of Aden and head of the Aden Free Zone with implementing the decision.

The cabinet reviewed various political, military, security and economic developments, stressing its commitment to serving the people.



West Bank Palestinians Say Haniyeh Killing Will Not Affect Fight with Israel

(FILES) Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh talks to reporters after his meeting with Egyptian officials in Gaza City, 12 February 2006. (Photo by Mohammed ABED / AFP)
(FILES) Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh talks to reporters after his meeting with Egyptian officials in Gaza City, 12 February 2006. (Photo by Mohammed ABED / AFP)
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West Bank Palestinians Say Haniyeh Killing Will Not Affect Fight with Israel

(FILES) Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh talks to reporters after his meeting with Egyptian officials in Gaza City, 12 February 2006. (Photo by Mohammed ABED / AFP)
(FILES) Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh talks to reporters after his meeting with Egyptian officials in Gaza City, 12 February 2006. (Photo by Mohammed ABED / AFP)

Palestinians in the occupied West Bank condemned the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas who was killed in Iran on Wednesday, but said it would have little effect on the movement.
Israeli officials have not so far claimed responsibility for the killing of Haniyeh, who had been in Tehran for the inauguration of the new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, and there has been no official comment from the government, said Reuters.
But few doubted that Haniyeh, the public face of Hamas who took the top job in 2017, was the latest in a string of Hamas leaders to have been killed by Israel.
"We woke up this morning to a tragedy for the Palestinian people," said Fawzi Nassar, a resident of the southern city of Hebron.
"He is not the first one they assassinated - there were many leaders in the past like Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and others, but that will not affect our steadfastness," he said, referring to the founder of Hamas who was killed by an Israeli helicopter gunship in 2004.
Palestinian factions called for a day of protest and a general strike in the West Bank and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose Fatah faction is a political rival to Hamas, condemned the killing, which Fatah called a "heinous and cowardly act".
Although the West Bank is under the nominal leadership of the Palestinian Authority, run by Fatah, opinion polls show support for Hamas is strong.
"His assassination will not affect the party because the party is not a new one," said Suheil Nasrelddin, a resident of Hebron. "They have a lot of leaders, even the youngest child is a leader."
The West Bank has been in turmoil since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel which sparked Israel's invasion of Gaza, with regular raids by Israeli forces in cities across the area.
Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed, many of them armed militants but also many stone-throwing youths or unarmed protesters and uninvolved civilians.
"The Israeli crime of assassinating Ismael Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas, will not break the Palestinian resistance or the Palestinian people's determination to achieve our freedom," said Mustafa Barghouti, a Palestinian politician who heads the Union Of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees.
"Of course it will escalate the situation," he said. "And this is what Netanyahu wants, he knows that the end of this war is the end of his political career."