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First Yemeni Budget Since Coup Worth $3.8 Billion

Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed bin Dagher (R) listens to his aide during a cabinet meeting of Yemeni ministerial council held in the Saudi capital Riyadh, on May 18, 2016. AFP PHOTO / FAYEZ NURELDINE
Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed bin Dagher (R) listens to his aide during a cabinet meeting of Yemeni ministerial council held in the Saudi capital Riyadh, on May 18, 2016. AFP PHOTO / FAYEZ NURELDINE
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First Yemeni Budget Since Coup Worth $3.8 Billion

Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed bin Dagher (R) listens to his aide during a cabinet meeting of Yemeni ministerial council held in the Saudi capital Riyadh, on May 18, 2016. AFP PHOTO / FAYEZ NURELDINE
Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed bin Dagher (R) listens to his aide during a cabinet meeting of Yemeni ministerial council held in the Saudi capital Riyadh, on May 18, 2016. AFP PHOTO / FAYEZ NURELDINE

The Yemeni government announced on Sunday its first budget since Houthis launched their coup more than three years ago, with expenses worth $3.8 billion, revenues estimated at around $2.6 billion, and a financial deficit of 33 percent.

Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr said that the Parliament would hold a meeting next month in Aden to approve the budget and reorganize the legislative branch in the country.

Sunday’s budget mainly approved the salaries of military employees and civil servants of the liberated provinces, in addition to providing payments for the reconstruction of institutions.

Bin Daghr told members of his government during the cabinet session in Aden, that the announced budget would cover the salaries of military employees and civil servants of 12 provinces for the whole year, in addition to specific sectors in the Houthi-controlled areas, including the judiciary, the health sector, universities and the high electoral committees.

The prime minister said that the government would pay the salaries of other government sectors in Houthi-controlled areas, only if the rebels supply financial revenues to the Central Bank.

The budget was released a few days after Saudi Arabia's $2bn deposit to the Yemeni central bank.

Bin Daher thanked the Kingdom, its King, Crown Prince, government and people for the deposit, saying “it came in the right timing.”

Meanwhile, Riyadh will witness on Monday a ministerial meeting of the Coalition Supporting Legitimacy in Yemen, and the announcement of a comprehensive plan for humanitarian operations.

Foreign ministers of the coalition are expected to hold several meetings to tackle efforts to coordinate the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Yemen.

Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said that Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry would head to Riyadh on Monday to take part in the meeting.

He said the talks reflect the coalition's commitment to meeting the humanitarian needs of the Yemen’s people and mirror the Egyptian government and people's solidarity with Yemenis in times of need.

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Arab World

Israel Military Says Soldier Killed in Gaza 

A drone view shows the destruction in a residential neighborhood, after the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the area, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City, October 21, 2025. (Reuters)
A drone view shows the destruction in a residential neighborhood, after the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the area, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City, October 21, 2025. (Reuters)
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Israel Military Says Soldier Killed in Gaza 

A drone view shows the destruction in a residential neighborhood, after the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the area, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City, October 21, 2025. (Reuters)
A drone view shows the destruction in a residential neighborhood, after the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the area, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City, October 21, 2025. (Reuters)

The Israeli military announced that one of its soldiers had been killed in combat in southern Gaza on Wednesday, but a security source said the death appeared to have been caused by "friendly fire".

"Staff Sergeant Ofri Yafe, aged 21, from HaYogev, a soldier in the Paratroopers Reconnaissance Unit, fell during combat in the southern Gaza Strip," the military said in a statement.

A security source, however, told AFP that the soldier appeared to have been "killed by friendly fire", without providing further details.

"The incident is still under investigation," the source added.

The death brings to five the number of Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza since a ceasefire took effect on October 10.

Arab World

Syria: SDF’s Mazloum Abdi Says Implementation of Integration Deal May Take Time

People sit outdoors surrounded by nature, with the Tigris river flowing in the background, following a long atmospheric depression, near the Syrian-Turkish border in Derik, Syria, February 16, 2026 REUTERS/Orhan Qereman
People sit outdoors surrounded by nature, with the Tigris river flowing in the background, following a long atmospheric depression, near the Syrian-Turkish border in Derik, Syria, February 16, 2026 REUTERS/Orhan Qereman
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Syria: SDF’s Mazloum Abdi Says Implementation of Integration Deal May Take Time

People sit outdoors surrounded by nature, with the Tigris river flowing in the background, following a long atmospheric depression, near the Syrian-Turkish border in Derik, Syria, February 16, 2026 REUTERS/Orhan Qereman
People sit outdoors surrounded by nature, with the Tigris river flowing in the background, following a long atmospheric depression, near the Syrian-Turkish border in Derik, Syria, February 16, 2026 REUTERS/Orhan Qereman

Mazloum Abdi, commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces, said the process of merging the SDF with Syrian government forces “may take some time,” despite expressing confidence in the eventual success of the agreement.

His remarks came after earlier comments in which he acknowledged differences with Damascus over the concept of “decentralization.”

Speaking at a tribal conference in the northeastern city of Hasakah on Tuesday, Abdi said the issue of integration would not be resolved quickly, but stressed that the agreement remains on track.

He said the deal reached last month stipulates that three Syrian army brigades will be created out of the SDF.

Abdi added that all SDF military units have withdrawn to their barracks in an effort to preserve stability and continue implementing the announced integration agreement with the Syrian state.

He also emphasized the need for armed forces to withdraw from the vicinity of the city of Ayn al-Arab (Kobani), to be replaced by security forces tasked with maintaining order.

Arab World

Israeli Far-Right Minister to Push for ‘Migration’ of West Bank, Gaza Palestinians 

A Palestinian man checks leather belts as people prepare for Ramadan, in the old city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 17,2026. (Reuters)
A Palestinian man checks leather belts as people prepare for Ramadan, in the old city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 17,2026. (Reuters)
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Israeli Far-Right Minister to Push for ‘Migration’ of West Bank, Gaza Palestinians 

A Palestinian man checks leather belts as people prepare for Ramadan, in the old city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 17,2026. (Reuters)
A Palestinian man checks leather belts as people prepare for Ramadan, in the old city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 17,2026. (Reuters)

Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he would pursue a policy of "encouraging the migration" of Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israeli media reported Wednesday.

"We will eliminate the idea of an Arab terror state," said Smotrich, speaking at an event organized by his Religious Zionism Party late on Tuesday.

"We will finally, formally, and in practical terms nullify the cursed Oslo Accords and embark on a path toward sovereignty, while encouraging emigration from both Gaza and Judea and Samaria.

"There is no other long-term solution," added Smotrich, who himself lives in a settlement in the West Bank.

Since last week, Israel has approved a series of measures backed by far-right ministers to tighten control over the West Bank, including in areas administered by the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo Accords, in place since the 1990s.

The measures include a process to register land in the West Bank as "state property" and facilitate direct purchases of land by Jewish Israelis.

The measures have triggered widespread international outrage.

On Tuesday, the UN missions of 85 countries condemned the measures, which critics say amount to de facto annexation of the Palestinian territory.

"We strongly condemn unilateral Israeli decisions and measures aimed at expanding Israel's unlawful presence in the West Bank," they said in a statement.

"Such decisions are contrary to Israel's obligations under international law and must be immediately reversed.

"We underline in this regard our strong opposition to any form of annexation."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called on Israel to reverse its land registration policy, calling it "destabilizing" and "unlawful".

The West Bank would form the largest part of any future Palestinian state. Many on Israel's religious right view it as Israeli land.

Israeli NGOs have also raised the alarm over a settlement plan signed by the government which they say would mark the first expansion of Jerusalem's borders into the occupied West Bank since 1967.

The planned development, announced by Israel's Ministry of Construction and Housing, is formally a westward expansion of the Geva Binyamin, or Adam, settlement situated northeast of Jerusalem in the West Bank.

The current Israeli government has fast-tracked settlement expansion, approving a record 52 settlements in 2025.

Excluding Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, more than 500,000 Israelis live in West Bank settlements and outposts, which are illegal under international law.