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Arab League Renews Call for UK to Recognize Palestine

Palestinians throw shoes at an effigy depicting Arthur Balfour during a protest in the West Bank city of Bethlehem (Reuters)
Palestinians throw shoes at an effigy depicting Arthur Balfour during a protest in the West Bank city of Bethlehem (Reuters)
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Arab League Renews Call for UK to Recognize Palestine

Palestinians throw shoes at an effigy depicting Arthur Balfour during a protest in the West Bank city of Bethlehem (Reuters)
Palestinians throw shoes at an effigy depicting Arthur Balfour during a protest in the West Bank city of Bethlehem (Reuters)

The Arab League (AL) has renewed its call for the UK to recognize the independent Palestinian State. The pan-Arab organization also called on the UK to correct the 'historical British mistake', when then UK Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour promised to establish a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine.

The organization also demanded the UK correct the mistake by supporting peace through backing the two-state solution and pushing Israel to stop its crimes and violations against the Palestinian people.

In a statement on Monday, marking the 103rd anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, the AL said that the British declaration was the start point of the tragedy of the century and caused historical injustice for the Palestinian people.

The organization said the Palestinian people have been suffering the repercussions of the declaration for more than a century, undergoing displacement, ethnic cleansing, and other continuing crimes carried out by the Israelis, according to the statement.

"There is only one path for comprehensive and permanent peace, which is ending the Israeli occupation and establishing the Palestinian State with Eastern Jerusalem as a capital, in accordance with the international legitimacy resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative," it added.

It also stressed its full support to the Palestinian people in their fair struggle, slamming the Israeli violations and practices and the establishment of settlements.

On 2 November 1917, Balfour promised the Anglo-Jewish community that the British Empire, which was occupying Palestine at that time, would support the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine.

In a related development, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh called on Britain to recognize the independent state of Palestine on the borders approved by the international legitimacy with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Speaking during a weekly online meeting of the Palestinian Authority cabinet, Shtayyeh said that "the recognition of a Palestinian state must be the British compensation."

For his part, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement said in a press statement that the Palestinian people "will not yield to the plans that began with the Balfour Declaration."

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Arab World

Houthi Charges of Espionage: A Tool to Intimidate, Control the Population

Houthis demonstrate in the center of the capital Sanaa against American and British strikes on their positions. (AP)
Houthis demonstrate in the center of the capital Sanaa against American and British strikes on their positions. (AP)
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Houthi Charges of Espionage: A Tool to Intimidate, Control the Population

Houthis demonstrate in the center of the capital Sanaa against American and British strikes on their positions. (AP)
Houthis demonstrate in the center of the capital Sanaa against American and British strikes on their positions. (AP)

The Houthi militia has recently released several individuals it had abducted for celebrating Yemen’s September Revolution. However, over the past few days, it has detained hundreds of residents in its stronghold of Saada, accusing them of espionage.

The campaign coincides with the airing of alleged confessions from a purported spy cell and the abduction of a former employee of the US Embassy in Yemen.

Local sources in Saada province, approximately 242 kilometers north of Sanaa, report that the Houthis have launched a widespread campaign of arrests targeting civilians. These individuals have been taken from their homes, workplaces, and businesses under allegations of collaborating with Western nations and Israel. Families of those detained have been warned to remain silent and refrain from discussing the arrests with the media or on social media platforms.

According to the sources, more than 300 individuals, including dozens of women, have been abducted across various districts in Saada. The arrests have also targeted relatives and associates of Othman Mujalli, a member of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, who hails from the region.

The sources suggest that the Houthis are detaining women as hostages to pressure their relatives, who may either be out of the militia’s reach or living outside Houthi-controlled areas. They also appear to be using the women to coerce confessions from male relatives. Last month, the Houthis accused Hamid Mujalli, Othman Mujalli’s brother, of engaging in espionage for Arab and Western nations for nearly two decades.

In a separate incident, the Houthis abducted a former employee of the US Embassy in Sanaa from his home on Monday without providing any explanation for their actions.

Release of Detainees

The Houthis recently released Sheikh Amin Rajeh, a tribal leader from Ibb province, after detaining him for four months. Several other individuals were also freed, none of whom had been formally charged during their detention. Rajeh, a member of the General People’s Congress Party, was one of many political activists, students, workers, and public employees abducted in September for celebrating Yemen’s September 26, 1962, revolution.

One of the released individuals, a shop owner, told Asharq Al-Awsat that he was unaware of the reason for his detention. He had been abducted in November, two months after the Houthis initiated a crackdown on those commemorating the revolution.

Alleged Spy Cell

Houthi-controlled media recently broadcast confessions from what they claimed was a newly uncovered spy cell. The group linked the cell to its broader narrative of “promised conquest and sacred jihad” against the West and Israel.

According to Houthi security officials, the alleged spy cell was working to compile a “target database,” monitor sites linked to missile forces and drones, and track specific military and security locations. They also claimed the cell had been observing the residences and movements of Houthi leaders.

In response, the Houthis issued warnings to residents, forbidding them from discussing or sharing information about militia-controlled sites, facilities, or the whereabouts of their leaders.

The Houthis’ actions reflect mounting concerns over potential strikes targeting their senior leadership, similar to the recent attacks on Hezbollah figures in Lebanon. Those fears come amid ongoing tensions with Israel, the United States, and the United Kingdom, following the Houthis’ assaults on international shipping lanes in the Red Sea and missile attacks on Israel.