Yemen Govt Slams Iran's Role in Undermining Truce

A general view shows a neighborhood with sky overcast by thick clouds in Sanaa, Yemen, 11 August 2022. (EPA)
A general view shows a neighborhood with sky overcast by thick clouds in Sanaa, Yemen, 11 August 2022. (EPA)
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Yemen Govt Slams Iran's Role in Undermining Truce

A general view shows a neighborhood with sky overcast by thick clouds in Sanaa, Yemen, 11 August 2022. (EPA)
A general view shows a neighborhood with sky overcast by thick clouds in Sanaa, Yemen, 11 August 2022. (EPA)

The legitimate Yemeni government slammed Tehran’s role in undermining the nationwide truce after a Houthi cell was busted for smuggling weapons from Iran.

It condemned Tehran for its support to the Houthi militias, saying the smuggling of arms undermines the UN-sponsored truce that has been extended twice since coming into effect in April.

Information Minister Moammar al-Eyrani revealed that a Houthi cell has confessed to smuggling weapons from Iran to Yemen’s Hodeidah port.

The four-member cell was busted by the Joint Forces on the West coast.

The smuggling is overseen by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, revealed the detainees.

In a series of tweets on Saturday, Eryani said the confessions “confirm Iran’s continued armament of the Houthis in flagrant violation and defiance of international law and relevant UN Security Council resolutions.”

The smuggling confirms “Iran’s role in undermining peace and its use of the militias a means to kill Yemenis, destabilize Yemen, spread chaos and terrorism in the region and threaten international interests,” he added.

He called on the international community, UN and permanent members of the Security Council to carry out their legal duties and issue a clear condemnation of the Iranian’s regime’s destabilizing policies.

“They must exert real pressure to end Iran’s meddling in Yemeni affairs and its smuggling of weapons to the terrorist Houthis,” he demanded.



Pro-Palestinian NGOs Sue Dutch Gov't over Israel Support

A Palestinian flag is removed from a building by Israeli authorities after being put up by an advocacy group that promotes coexistence between Palestinians and Israelis, in Ramat Gan, Israel, Wednesday, June 1, 2022. (AP)
A Palestinian flag is removed from a building by Israeli authorities after being put up by an advocacy group that promotes coexistence between Palestinians and Israelis, in Ramat Gan, Israel, Wednesday, June 1, 2022. (AP)
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Pro-Palestinian NGOs Sue Dutch Gov't over Israel Support

A Palestinian flag is removed from a building by Israeli authorities after being put up by an advocacy group that promotes coexistence between Palestinians and Israelis, in Ramat Gan, Israel, Wednesday, June 1, 2022. (AP)
A Palestinian flag is removed from a building by Israeli authorities after being put up by an advocacy group that promotes coexistence between Palestinians and Israelis, in Ramat Gan, Israel, Wednesday, June 1, 2022. (AP)

Pro-Palestinian groups took the Dutch state to court Friday, urging a halt to arms exports to Israel and accusing the government of failing to prevent what they termed a genocide in Gaza.

The NGOs argued that Israel is breaking international law in Gaza and the West Bank, invoking, amongst others, the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention set up in the wake of the Holocaust.

"Israel is guilty of genocide and apartheid" and "is using Dutch weapons to wage war", said Wout Albers, a lawyer representing the NGOs.

"Dutch weapons are killing children, every day, in Palestine, including my family," said Ahmed Abofoul, a legal advisor to Al Haq, one of the groups involved in the suit, AFP reported.

Israel furiously denies accusations of genocide as it presses on with the offensive in Gaza it began after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.

Opening the case at the court in The Hague, judge Sonja Hoekstra noted: "It is important to underline that the gravity of the situation in Gaza is not contested by the Dutch State, nor is the status of the West Bank."

"Today is about finding out what is legally in play and what can be expected of the State, if the State can be expected to do more, or act differently than it is currently acting," she added.

She acknowledged this was a "sensitive case", saying: "It's a whole legal debate."

The lawyer for the Dutch State, Reimer Veldhuis, said the Netherlands has been applying European laws in force for arms exports.

Veldhuis argued the case should be tossed out.

"It is unlikely that the minister responsible will grant an arms export licence to Israel that would contribute to the Israeli army's activities in Gaza or the West Bank," said Veldhuis.