Yemeni Govt Announces New Ministerial Program, Pending Parliamentary Approval

Yemeni government meets in Aden, Yemen (Photo credit: Office of the Yemeni prime minister)
Yemeni government meets in Aden, Yemen (Photo credit: Office of the Yemeni prime minister)
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Yemeni Govt Announces New Ministerial Program, Pending Parliamentary Approval

Yemeni government meets in Aden, Yemen (Photo credit: Office of the Yemeni prime minister)
Yemeni government meets in Aden, Yemen (Photo credit: Office of the Yemeni prime minister)

The internationally recognized government in Yemen has successfully declared its ministerial program draft on Monday, preparing it for referral to parliament for approval.

According to official sources, the draft encompasses sections that cover security and defense, fiscal and monetary policies, economy and investment, infrastructure, energy and environment, general administration and good governance, human development, foreign relations, planning and information.

The draft is based on accurate analysis of outstanding challenges and most urgent needs, as well as policies and interventions necessary to cope with all challenges, reorganize and unite the military and security institutions in the face of Houthis, and mobilize resources from donors.

It is worth noting that the cabinet had assigned a ministerial committee, headed by Foreign Minister Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, to prepare a draft ministerial program for the newly formed power-sharing government.

On December 18, Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi announced a new government as part of his efforts to implement the political annex of the Riyadh Agreement which was signed by the government and the Southern Transitional Council (STC).

“The new program reflects the government's commitment and determination to start new course of work aimed at restoring the state, ending the Houthi coup and achieving economic stability and recovery,” said Yemeni Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik at press conference in Aden after the cabinet holding an extraordinary meeting.

“The real criterion of this draft will be the assessment of progress based on achievement and implementation, requiring the government members to work according to different rational mechanisms to effectively tackle the challenges,” he told reporters.

Abdulmalik stressed that “every ministry should assume its full responsibility in implementing the obligations and undertakings stipulated in the government's ministerial program draft.”

The premier emphasized that the government’s vision is focused on recovery, stopping currency devaluation and economic decline and building state institutions. Restoring law and order and upholding principles of accountability are also part of the government’s new scheme.

Abdulmalik called on Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates to provide his government with urgent support.



US-Turkish Dual Citizen Killed in Anti-settler Protest in West Bank

Palestinians inspect the damage after a ten-day Israeli military operation in Jenin, West Bank, 06 September 2024. (EPA)
Palestinians inspect the damage after a ten-day Israeli military operation in Jenin, West Bank, 06 September 2024. (EPA)
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US-Turkish Dual Citizen Killed in Anti-settler Protest in West Bank

Palestinians inspect the damage after a ten-day Israeli military operation in Jenin, West Bank, 06 September 2024. (EPA)
Palestinians inspect the damage after a ten-day Israeli military operation in Jenin, West Bank, 06 September 2024. (EPA)

Israeli troops shot and killed a Turkish-American woman who had been taking part in a protest against settlement expansion in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Friday, Palestinian and Turkish officials said.

The White House said it was deeply disturbed by the death of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi and called on Israel to investigate. Türkiye's foreign ministry said she was shot in the head, and placed blame on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government for her death.

Palestinian officials described her as a 26-year-old activist who held both US and Turkish citizenship.

Israel's military said its troops had fired toward a male "main instigator" who posed a threat by hurling rocks at soldiers.

The military was looking into reports that a female foreign national "was killed as a result of shots fired in the area. The details of the incident and the circumstances in which she was hit are under review."

There was no immediate comment on the incident from Netanyahu's office.

Fouad Nafaa, head of Rafidia Hospital in Nablus, told Reuters that Eygi arrived there in critical condition, with a serious head injury.

"We tried to perform a resuscitation operation on her, but unfortunately she died," he said.

The Palestinian Authority's official news agency, WAFA, said the incident occurred during a regular protest march by activists in Beita, a village near Nablus that has seen repeated attacks on Palestinians by Jewish settlers.

'DEEPLY DISTURBED'

In a statement, Sean Savett, a spokesperson for the White House's National Security Council, said Washington was "deeply distributed by the tragic death of an American citizen" in the West Bank on Friday.

"We have reached out to the Government of Israel to ask for more information and request an investigation into the incident," Savett said.

Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned Eygi's death, saying in a post on social media that Türkiye "will continue to work in every platform to halt Israel's policy of occupation and genocide". Israel denies its actions in occupied Palestinian territories amount to genocide.

In a separate incident in the West Bank village of Qaryut on Friday, a 13-year-old girl was killed during clashes with Israeli forces, Palestinian health officials said, after settlers attacked two residents there.

WAFA quoted the girl's father as saying that she was in their home when it was hit by gunfire. The Israeli military said it was looking into the report.

Since the 1967 Middle East war, Israel has occupied the West Bank of the Jordan River, which Palestinians want as the core of an independent state. Israel has built Jewish settlements there that most countries deem illegal, which Israel disputes citing historical and biblical ties to the land.

A rise in violent attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians in the West Bank has stirred anger among Western allies of Israel, including the United States, which has imposed sanctions on some Israelis involved in the settler movement.

Several weeks ago, around 100 settlers attacked the village of Jit, in the northern West Bank, drawing worldwide condemnation and an Israeli government promise of swift action against anyone found guilty of violence.

Palestinians and human rights groups regularly accuse Israeli forces of standing by as attacks take place and even joining in themselves.