Yemen PM, EU Discuss Future Partnership

Yemeni Prime Minister Salem Saleh bin Braik meets with European officials on Wednesday. (Saba)
Yemeni Prime Minister Salem Saleh bin Braik meets with European officials on Wednesday. (Saba)
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Yemen PM, EU Discuss Future Partnership

Yemeni Prime Minister Salem Saleh bin Braik meets with European officials on Wednesday. (Saba)
Yemeni Prime Minister Salem Saleh bin Braik meets with European officials on Wednesday. (Saba)

The European Union has informed the Yemeni government that it will issue a statement about the situation in Yemen that will tackle the Houthi attacks on Red Sea navigation and the harm they have incurred in the country, region and world, informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The EU last made such a statement in appreciation of the government three years ago. This time, it will be more explicit in condemning the Houthis, the sources added on condition of anonymity.

Yemeni Prime Minister Salem Saleh bin Braik held talks on Wednesday with Managing Director for Middle East and North Africa in the EU’s European External Action Service Helene Le Gal and EU Ambassador to Yemen Gabriel Vinals.

The sources continued: “The EU believes that the damage caused by the Houthis was no longer just a Yemeni problem, especially after their attacks on Red Sea shipping.”

This will determine EU policy and how to handle Yemen, they said.

Wednesday’s meeting covered the current and future partnership between Yemen and the EU and the diplomatic, humanitarian and economic support it is providing to the war-torn country.

It tackled support to the Yemeni coastguard in their efforts to combat smuggling and protect international navigation, as well as joint coordination in confronting regional and international challenges, reported the Yemen’s Saba news agency.

The meeting reviewed the government’s service and economic priorities and its comprehensive reform efforts.

The gatherers discussed Yemen’s humanitarian needs and efforts to ease the suffering of the people that has been compounded by Houthi attacks on oil facilities and Red Sea shipping.

They covered current and future cooperation and the EU’s support for Yemen and its preparations to hold a humanitarian conference in Brussels later this month.



Influential Far-right Minister Lashes out at Netanyahu over Gaza War Policy

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends a Plenum session of the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, also attended by Argentine President Javier Milei (not pictured), in Jerusalem, June 11, 2025
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends a Plenum session of the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, also attended by Argentine President Javier Milei (not pictured), in Jerusalem, June 11, 2025
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Influential Far-right Minister Lashes out at Netanyahu over Gaza War Policy

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends a Plenum session of the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, also attended by Argentine President Javier Milei (not pictured), in Jerusalem, June 11, 2025
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends a Plenum session of the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, also attended by Argentine President Javier Milei (not pictured), in Jerusalem, June 11, 2025

Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich sharply criticized on Sunday a cabinet decision to allow some aid into Gaza as a "grave mistake" that he said would benefit the militant Palestinian group Hamas.

Smotrich also accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of failing to ensure that Israel's military is following government directives in prosecuting the war against Hamas in Gaza. He said he was considering his "next steps" but stopped short of explicitly threatening to quit the coalition, Reuters reported.

Smotrich's comments come a day before Netanyahu is due to hold talks in Washington with President Donald Trump on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day Gaza ceasefire.

"... the cabinet and the Prime Minister made a grave mistake yesterday in approving the entry of aid through a route that also benefits Hamas," Smotrich said on X, arguing that the aid would ultimately reach the Islamist group and serve as "logistical support for the enemy during wartime".

The Israeli government has not announced any changes to its aid policy in Gaza. Israeli media reported that the government had voted to allow additional aid to enter northern Gaza.

The prime minister's office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The military declined to comment.

Israel accuses Hamas of stealing aid for its own fighters or to sell to finance its operations, an accusation Hamas denies. Gaza is in the grip of a humanitarian catastrophe, with conditions threatening to push nearly a half a million people into famine within months, according to UN estimates.

Israel in May partially lifted a nearly three-month blockade on aid. Two Israeli officials said on June 27 the government had temporarily stopped aid from entering north Gaza.

PRESSURE

Public pressure in Israel is mounting on Netanyahu to secure a permanent ceasefire, a move opposed by some hardline members of his right-wing coalition. An Israeli team left for Qatar on Sunday for talks on a possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal.

Smotrich, who in January threatened to withdraw his Religious Zionism party from the government if Israel agreed to a complete end to the war before having achieved its objectives, did not mention the ceasefire in his criticism of Netanyahu.

The right-wing coalition holds a slim parliamentary majority, although some opposition lawmakers have offered to support the government from collapsing if a ceasefire is agreed.