Saudi Arabia Supports Yemeni Parties Returning to Peace Negotiations

In the Harat Al-Masna’a slum in Sana’a, Yemen, a man walks with his three-year-old daughter which sits next to a former textile factory and hosts 231 families of former factory workers. Photo: Giles Clarke for UNOCHA
In the Harat Al-Masna’a slum in Sana’a, Yemen, a man walks with his three-year-old daughter which sits next to a former textile factory and hosts 231 families of former factory workers. Photo: Giles Clarke for UNOCHA
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Saudi Arabia Supports Yemeni Parties Returning to Peace Negotiations

In the Harat Al-Masna’a slum in Sana’a, Yemen, a man walks with his three-year-old daughter which sits next to a former textile factory and hosts 231 families of former factory workers. Photo: Giles Clarke for UNOCHA
In the Harat Al-Masna’a slum in Sana’a, Yemen, a man walks with his three-year-old daughter which sits next to a former textile factory and hosts 231 families of former factory workers. Photo: Giles Clarke for UNOCHA

Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Yemen Mohammed Al-Jaber reaffirmed that the Kingdom supports all political efforts exerted by the United Nations to bring Yemeni parties back to negotiations and reach a political solution.

However, the ambassador pointed out to the existence of foreign interferences by the Iranian regime that threaten security and stability in the region and Yemen.

UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed announced on Wednesday his intention to revive negotiations between the parties to the Yemeni conflict through the introduction of a comprehensive initiative for the solution, including humanitarian initiatives to rebuild confidence and the return of the parties to the negotiating table.

"The Iranian regime is threatening security and stability in the region," the Saudi ambassador to Yemen said at a workshop in Brussels organized by the Gulf Research Center, citing a Houthi-Iranian agreement signed by militias in February 2015 to conduct 28 weekly Sanaa-Tehran flights to import ballistic missiles, guided boats and drones, and the specific weapons that the Houthis were supplied with.

"The Saudi position is clear; the solution in Yemen is political and depends on three basic reference points: the Gulf initiative, the outcomes of the Yemeni national dialogue, and the UN Security Council resolution (2216)," he said in a speech to workshop attendees.

The workshop was attended by representatives of the Yemeni government, the European Union, and civil society organizations.

On the other hand, Jaber stressed the need for Houthis to hand over the weapons and participate in the political process as a political party and not as a militia.

"Iranian interference in Yemen must stop and ensure the security and stability of Yemen and the region," he said.

For his part, Mohamed Taha Mustafa, the Yemeni ambassador to Belgium and the European Union, stressed the keenness of the legitimate government led by President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi on peace based on the principles of partnership in power and fair distribution of wealth within the framework of a federal Yemen that can serve Yemenis.



Gaza: Polio Vaccine Campaign Kicks off a day Before Expected Pause in Fighting

A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child at a hospital in Khan Younis, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child at a hospital in Khan Younis, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
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Gaza: Polio Vaccine Campaign Kicks off a day Before Expected Pause in Fighting

A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child at a hospital in Khan Younis, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child at a hospital in Khan Younis, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A campaign to inoculate children in Gaza against polio and prevent the spread of the virus began on Saturday, Gaza's Health Ministry said, as Palestinians in both the Hamas-governed enclave and the occupied West Bank reeled from Israel's ongoing military offensives.

Children in Gaza began receiving vaccines, the health ministry told a news conference, a day before the large-scale vaccine rollout and planned pause in fighting agreed to by Israel and the UN World Health Organization. The WHO confirmed the larger campaign would begin Sunday.

“There must be a ceasefire so that the teams can reach everyone targeted by this campaign,” said Dr. Yousef Abu Al-Rish, deputy health minister, describing scenes of sewage running through crowded tent camps in Gaza.

Associated Press journalists saw about 10 infants receiving vaccine doses at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.

Israel is expected to pause some operations in Gaza on Sunday to allow health workers to administer vaccines to some 650,000 Palestinian children. Officials said the pause would last at least nine hours and is unrelated to ongoing cease-fire negotiations.

“We will vaccinate up to 10-year-olds and God willing we will be fine,” said Dr. Bassam Abu Ahmed, general coordinator of public health programs at Al-Quds University.

The vaccination campaign comes after the first polio case in 25 years in Gaza was discovered this month. Doctors concluded a 10-month-old had been partially paralyzed by a mutated strain of the virus after not being vaccinated due to fighting.

Healthcare workers in Gaza have been warning of the potential for a polio outbreak for months. The humanitarian crisis has deepened during the war that broke out after Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were militants.

Hours earlier, the Health Ministry said hospitals received 89 dead on Saturday, including 26 who died in an overnight Israeli bombardment, and 205 wounded — one of the highest daily tallies in months.