Yemen Condemns Mocha Attack, Urges Firm Int’l Stance against Houthis

Yemen's PM meets with the Dutch ambassador to Yemen in Riyadh. (Saba)
Yemen's PM meets with the Dutch ambassador to Yemen in Riyadh. (Saba)
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Yemen Condemns Mocha Attack, Urges Firm Int’l Stance against Houthis

Yemen's PM meets with the Dutch ambassador to Yemen in Riyadh. (Saba)
Yemen's PM meets with the Dutch ambassador to Yemen in Riyadh. (Saba)

The Yemeni government condemned on Sunday the attack by the Iran-backed Houthi militias against the Mocha port that left massive destruction at the facility.

The Houthis attacked the port, located west of the Taiz province, with missiles and armed drones on Saturday days after it had resumed operations that had come to a halt during the conflict. The attack destroyed warehouses that were being used by relief agencies to deliver humanitarian aid and others that were used by importers.

The Houthis launched the assault hours before a government delegation was set to arrive at the facility to officially kick off the resumption of its operations. No human casualties were reported.

The government urged the international community to take a firm stance against the Houthis.

Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalek accused the Houthis of insisting on deepening the humanitarian disaster that they caused when they revolted against the legitimate authority and sparked the war in late 2014.

He said the attack is an extension of the militias’ targeting of civilian locations and their systematic destruction of Yemen’s economic infrastructure.

Meeting in Riyadh with the Dutch ambassador to Yemen, he called on the international community to condemn the Houthi crimes and the militias’ constant escalation.

The crimes must not be met with silence, the PM demanded.



Abbas Denounces Israeli Gaza Offensive at UN, Insists: 'We Will Not Leave'

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 79th United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters in New York, US, September 26, 2024.   REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 79th United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters in New York, US, September 26, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
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Abbas Denounces Israeli Gaza Offensive at UN, Insists: 'We Will Not Leave'

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 79th United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters in New York, US, September 26, 2024.   REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 79th United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters in New York, US, September 26, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

The head of the Palestinian Authority denounced Israel and its offensive in the Gaza Strip in front of world leaders Thursday, appealing to other nations to stop what he called a “genocidal war” against a place and people he said had been totally destroyed.
Mahmoud Abbas used the rostrum of the UN General Assembly as he typically does — to criticize Israel. But this was the first time he did so since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas on Israel that triggered an Israeli military operation that has devastated the Gaza Strip.
Abbas strode to the podium to loud applause and a few unintelligible shouts. His first words were a sentence repeated three times: “We will not leave. We will not leave. We will not leave.”
He accused Israel of destroying Gaza and making it unlivable. And he said that his government should govern post-war Gaza as part of an independent Palestinian state, a vision that Israel’s hardline government rejects.
“Palestine is our homeland. It is the land of our fathers and our grandfathers. It will remain ours. And if anyone were to leave, it would be the occupying usurpers," The Associated Press quoted him as saying.
A nationwide series of campus protests against Israel's operations in Gaza swept the United States in the spring and largely originated at Columbia University, about 70 blocks north of the United Nations.
“The American people are marching in the streets in these demonstrations. We are appreciative of them," Abbas said.
Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed more than 41,500 Palestinians and wounded more than 96,000 others, according to the latest figures released Thursday by the Health Ministry.

Abbas spent big chunks of his speech at the United Nations talking about the state of life in Gaza, and he painted a bleak picture.
"Entire family names have been written out of the civil record," he said. "Gaza is no longer fit for life. Most homes have been destroyed. The same applies for most buildings. ... Roads. Churches. Mosques. Water plants. Electric plants. Sanitation plants. Anyone who has gone to Gaza and known it before would not recognize it anymore.”
Among his demands, none of which are new: A full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip — not “buffer zones.” Allowing Gaza's displaced Palestinians — an estimated 90% of the population — to return to their homes. And a central role for Abbas' government in any future Gaza.
“Stop this crime. Stop it now. Stop killing children and women. Stop the genocide. Stop sending weapons to Israel. This madness cannot continue. The entire world is responsible for what is happening to our people in Gaza and the West Bank.”