Council of Arab Interior Ministers Classifies Houthis as Terrorist Group

Houthi militants in Sanaa (file/Reuters)
Houthi militants in Sanaa (file/Reuters)
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Council of Arab Interior Ministers Classifies Houthis as Terrorist Group

Houthi militants in Sanaa (file/Reuters)
Houthi militants in Sanaa (file/Reuters)

The Council of Arab Interior Ministers has approved the classification of the Houthi group as a terrorist entity and its inclusion in the list of terrorist entities on the Arab list of perpetrators, masterminds, and financiers of terrorist acts.

The Council's General Secretariat said in a statement that the classification of the Houthi militia as a terrorist entity, and its inclusion on the Arab blacklist, comes as a result of the violations against the Yemeni population, including killing, displacement, imprisonment, and torture.

The Council also condemned the group's violations against neighboring countries and the international community, including repeated cross-border terrorist attacks targeting civilians and civil infrastructure in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

They denounced the recent Houthi terrorist attack against a Saudi refinery.

The Council reiterated its full solidarity with the Kingdom in the face of these terrorist attacks and its unconditional support in confronting terrorism and confronting external schemes.

The statement noted that the terrorist attacks aimed to undermine Saudi security and stability.

The statement explained that the inclusion of the Houthis in the Arab blacklist comes as a result of the efforts of the Arab police and security services, which realized the danger of these militias and the consequences of the spread of their actions and ideas.

The Council also called on the Arab Parliament to designate the Houthis as a terrorist group.



US Says Israel Must Improve Gaza's Humanitarian Situation or Risk Aid

 People attempt to extinguish a fire at the site of an Israeli strike on tents sheltering displaced people, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
People attempt to extinguish a fire at the site of an Israeli strike on tents sheltering displaced people, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
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US Says Israel Must Improve Gaza's Humanitarian Situation or Risk Aid

 People attempt to extinguish a fire at the site of an Israeli strike on tents sheltering displaced people, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
People attempt to extinguish a fire at the site of an Israeli strike on tents sheltering displaced people, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Israel must take urgent steps to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza to avoid legal action involving US military aid, according to news reports on Tuesday.

"We are writing now to underscore the US government's deep concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, and seek urgent and sustained actions by your government this month to reverse this trajectory," they wrote in an Oct. 13 letter to their Israeli counterparts, posted by an Axios reporter on X, according to Reuters.

The State Department and Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Representatives for Israel's government also could not be immediately reached for comment.

The report comes as Israeli forces expand operations into northern Gaza amid ongoing concerns about access to humanitarian aid throughout the enclave and civilians' access to food, water and medicine.

US officials earlier this year said Israel may have violated international humanitarian law using US-supplied weapons during its military operation in Gaza.

This week's letter cited Section 620i of the Foreign Assistance Act, which restricts (prohibits) military aid to countries that impede delivery of US humanitarian assistance.

It also cited a National Security Memorandum that US President Joe Biden issued in February that requires the State Department to report to Congress on whether it finds credible Israel's assurances that its use of US weapons does not violate US or international law.