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Yemen Calls for International Pressure on Houthi Militias

Yemen’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Abdullah al-Saadi addresses the UN Security Council (Saba)
Yemen’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Abdullah al-Saadi addresses the UN Security Council (Saba)
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Yemen Calls for International Pressure on Houthi Militias

Yemen’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Abdullah al-Saadi addresses the UN Security Council (Saba)
Yemen’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Abdullah al-Saadi addresses the UN Security Council (Saba)

Yemen has called for international pressure to compel Houthi militias to fulfill their commitments related to the April 2 truce agreement.

Yemen’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Abdullah al-Saadi told the UN Security Council that the Yemeni people continue to suffer as a result of the militias’ ongoing war and escalation of violence, causing the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.

To end the conflict and alleviate suffering, Saadi said the Presidential Leadership Council and the Yemeni government have sought to support regional and international efforts to achieve a lasting, comprehensive peace based on the agreed upon terms of reference.

These include the Gulf initiative and its executive mechanism, outcomes of the comprehensive national dialogue, and the relevant Security Council resolutions, mainly resolution 2216 (2015).

Saadi affirmed that the government has shown flexibility and reacted favorably to all humanitarian actions despite the militias’ daily violations of the truce on all fronts.

Among these violations are establishing new military sites, smuggling weapons, bombing residential neighborhoods in Taiz, Marib, Hodeidah and other Yemeni areas, recruiting children and repositioning.

He pointed to the reopening of Sanaa airport, resuming commercial flights, and allowing the entry of oil derivatives ships through the port of Hodeidah.

He further accused the militias of using the oil revenues in their war against the Yemenis and the personal enrichment of their leaders instead of paying the salaries of public sector employees in the areas they control.

All provisions of the truce must be implemented, including the lifting of the siege of Taiz before discussing any other issues, he stressed, noting that Houthis have not renewed the negotiations on Taiz for some six weeks and are not cooperating on opening the main roads.

He urged the international community to pressure Houthis to respond favorably to peace efforts, respect the truce, release detainees and end the recruitment of child soldiers.

Saadi underscored the importance of prioritizing the issue of prisoners and detainees and carrying on efforts to release them and put an end to the obstacles created by the militias.

He went on to say that humanitarian organizations in Houthi-run areas are encountering obstacles, noting that the militias are preventing Yemeni people from receiving aid, provided that their children join their ranks.

They continue to recruit thousands of children, some not even 15 years old, while the truce is in place, brainwashing them with extremist ideas that glorify death and martyrdom, he said, warning that that could lead to a new escalation of violence.

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Arab World

Israeli Agent Confession Reveals How Deep Hezbollah Has Been Infiltrated

Hezbollah supporters are seen during the funeral of slain member Hussein Yaghi in the eastern Bekaa, Lebanon. (AFP)
Hezbollah supporters are seen during the funeral of slain member Hussein Yaghi in the eastern Bekaa, Lebanon. (AFP)
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Israeli Agent Confession Reveals How Deep Hezbollah Has Been Infiltrated

Hezbollah supporters are seen during the funeral of slain member Hussein Yaghi in the eastern Bekaa, Lebanon. (AFP)
Hezbollah supporters are seen during the funeral of slain member Hussein Yaghi in the eastern Bekaa, Lebanon. (AFP)

Investigations into detainee “A.M.”, a native of the southern town of Ansar arrested last week on charges of collaborating with Israel, show he did more than carry out assigned tasks under an Israeli agenda.

According to the findings, A.M. took the initiative to supply precise information about sites that were later destroyed, providing coordinates for military locations, including Hezbollah missile depots and drone manufacturing facilities.

The case also underscores the scale of effort by Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency to recruit agents. High-risk recruits are enlisted abroad, then transferred to Israel and assigned sensitive missions.

Phased training

Security sources said the Mossad recruited A.M. in 2020 and put him through multi-stage training courses. He was deployed at the height of the latest war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2024 and continued operating even after the November 2024 ceasefire, suggesting his case mirrors others.

Some agents have been arrested; others, sources said, are still moving freely inside Lebanon.

A.M.’s file is considered one of the most serious, given the missions he carried out.

Asharq Al-Awsat learned from security sources that the detainee, who holds a master’s degree from the University of Turin in Italy, was viewed as a valuable catch by a Mossad officer using the alias “Rami Murad.”

The officer recruited him in a European country in 2020 and maintained regular contact before introducing him to another handler, “Michael Leva,” who identified himself as a Mossad officer.

Leva asked the Lebanese national to gather security information in exchange for money. After agreeing, A.M. underwent a polygraph test, which he passed. He began by providing personal details about himself and his family, as well as security-related information about Lebanon. He was later tasked with supplying information about Hezbollah members.

Meetings in Germany

Security sources said A.M. met his handler several times in Germany, providing information on Hezbollah members and their phone numbers. He also identified the types of bulldozers and heavy machinery used by the Iran-backed party in southern Lebanon, including the names and contact details of their owners.

In October 2021, A.M. met Michael again in Cologne, where he underwent a second polygraph test. He provided additional information about residents of Ansar and Hezbollah members.

In late 2022, A.M. traveled with Michael from Germany to Israel. Upon arrival, the Mossad officer took his phone and informed him he would remain in Israel for three days. The next day, he was moved to a private room in a nearby building and subjected to a third polygraph test.

After passing, he was questioned about multiple sites in southern Lebanon, reviewing three-dimensional maps displayed on screens. He and his handler conducted a detailed review of Hezbollah-affiliated locations for which A.M. had already provided coordinates.

Sources said he also underwent several training courses inside the occupied Palestinian territories under the supervision of specialized trainers.

From intelligence to operations

While A.M.’s role was officially limited to gathering information, sources say his activities took on an operational dimension.

He supplied Mossad handlers with reports on institutions, individuals, centers, factories and hospitals affiliated with or funded by Hezbollah. He also documented the locations of surveillance cameras in Ansar, nighttime movements in southern areas, Hezbollah military movements and the party’s funding sources.

His reports extended to displaced residents from border villages during the war, Hezbollah’s handling of them and the assistance provided, as well as rental costs, electricity subscriptions and other expenses incurred due to displacement.

41 detainees

With his arrest, the number of agents detained since the start of the Israeli war on Lebanon in September 2024 has risen to 41.

A judicial source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the military court attaches “utmost importance” to these cases, whether before investigative judges or during trials before the military court.

According to security sources, after the ceasefire, A.M. provided the Mossad with precise information about bulldozer and heavy machinery showrooms in the southern towns of Msayleh, Daoudiyeh and Ansar that were later bombed and destroyed. He also prepared detailed reports on southern traders importing bulldozers, heavy machinery and spare parts.

Sources said he photographed Hezbollah sites in Ansar, as well as in Tyre, Nabatieh and the western Bekaa, and supplied detailed information about Hezbollah members, some of whom were later assassinated by Israel.

Inspecting targets after the ceasefire

After the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect, A.M. inspected about 30 strike sites, according to informed sources, providing detailed assessments. The targets included Hezbollah military facilities, supply warehouses, missile and weapons depots, electronic equipment and drone factories.

His role was not confined to executing instructions. Sources revealed he proactively relayed everything he knew or heard about Hezbollah, its members, locations and funding methods.

He photographed dozens of sites in southern Lebanon, including buildings, commercial complexes, roads and military positions linked to Hezbollah, and sent the images and video footage to his handlers.

Arab World

Israeli Settlers Burn Tents, Vehicles in West Bank Village, Say Residents

Palestinians check damage to a burned vehicle, which Palestinians say was damaged by Israeli settlers, in Susiya near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank February 25, 2026. (Reuters)
Palestinians check damage to a burned vehicle, which Palestinians say was damaged by Israeli settlers, in Susiya near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank February 25, 2026. (Reuters)
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Israeli Settlers Burn Tents, Vehicles in West Bank Village, Say Residents

Palestinians check damage to a burned vehicle, which Palestinians say was damaged by Israeli settlers, in Susiya near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank February 25, 2026. (Reuters)
Palestinians check damage to a burned vehicle, which Palestinians say was damaged by Israeli settlers, in Susiya near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank February 25, 2026. (Reuters)

Israeli settlers set ‌fire to vehicles and tents in the Palestinian village of Susiya on Tuesday night, residents said, in the latest incident of settler violence against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Videos verified by Reuters showed a masked group of men, who residents said were Israeli settlers, approaching the village near the city of Hebron, and later burning vehicles and Palestinian property.

"They attack us almost every day, repeatedly, because we live near the main road...Last night they burned everywhere," Halima Abu Eid, a Susiya resident told Reuters on Wednesday.

The ‌Israeli military ‌said they had dispatched soldiers to deal with ‌reports ⁠of "deliberate burnings of ⁠Palestinian property" and had opened an investigation into the incident.

Violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank has increased sharply since the beginning of the war in Gaza in October 2023, with over 800 Palestinians displaced due to settler attacks in 2026 according to United Nations data.

Attacks where masked settlers arrive ⁠at night to destroy Palestinian property or attack ‌residents have become common, as Israeli settlers ‌seek to control large swathes of land in the West Bank.

An ‌Israeli official previously blamed settler violence on a "fringe minority", although ‌Reuters reporting has shown well-organized plans to take Palestinian land in public settler social media channels.

The United Nations has documented at least 86 instances of settler violence from February 3 to 16, leading to the displacement ‌of 146 Palestinians and the injury of 64.

Israeli indictments of settler violence are rare. At ⁠the end of ⁠2025, Israeli monitoring group Yesh Din said of the hundreds of cases of settler violence it had documented since October 7, 2023, only 2% resulted in indictments. Israel's far-right governing coalition has enabled the rapid spread of settlements, with some ministers openly stating they want to "bury" a Palestinian state.

Most world powers deem Israel's settlements, on land it captured in a 1967 war, illegal, and numerous UN Security Council resolutions have called on Israel to halt all settlement activity.

Israel disputes the view that its settlements are unlawful and it cites biblical and historical ties to the land.

Arab World

PA Slams, Israel Hails US Offer of Consular Services in West Bank Settlement

A view of the Israeli settlement of Tzufim in the north of Qalqilya city in occupied West Bank is pictured against the backdrop of Israeli city of Netanya on February 25, 2026. (AFP)
A view of the Israeli settlement of Tzufim in the north of Qalqilya city in occupied West Bank is pictured against the backdrop of Israeli city of Netanya on February 25, 2026. (AFP)
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PA Slams, Israel Hails US Offer of Consular Services in West Bank Settlement

A view of the Israeli settlement of Tzufim in the north of Qalqilya city in occupied West Bank is pictured against the backdrop of Israeli city of Netanya on February 25, 2026. (AFP)
A view of the Israeli settlement of Tzufim in the north of Qalqilya city in occupied West Bank is pictured against the backdrop of Israeli city of Netanya on February 25, 2026. (AFP)

Israel welcomed Wednesday a decision by the US embassy to offer consular services in an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank, while the Palestinian Authority slammed it as a "violation of international law".

The US mission in Jerusalem said Tuesday that as part of an initiative to mark the 250th anniversary of US independence, it would provide Americans with "routine passport services in Efrat on Friday, February 27... for one day only".

Efrat is a West Bank settlement home to about 12,000 Israelis and is located 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) south of Jerusalem.

Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which Israel occupied in 1967, are illegal under international law.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar welcomed the US move.

"We... appreciate the important decision by the US embassy to extend consular services to Efrat, in Judea and Samaria," he said, using the biblical name for the West Bank.

"As America marks 250 years of independence, Israel stands proudly beside it," he added at an event marking the occasion.

The Palestinian Authority's Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission condemned the move, saying in a statement that it "constitutes a clear violation of international law and a blatant favoring of the occupation authorities", referencing Israel.

Minister Muayyad Shubban, head of the commission, called on the US to reverse the decision, and on the international community to refrain from legitimizing the settlement system.

The Palestinian militant group Hamas also decried the US decision, describing it in a statement as "a dangerous step that supports (Israel's) Judaization plans".

The US embassy in Jerusalem also announced that such pop-up consular services will be provided in the next couple of months in another Israeli settlement, Beitar Illit, as well as in the Palestinian city of Ramallah and three cities inside Israel.