Yemen’s PLC Establishes ‘Crisis Cell,’ Stresses End to Banking Distortions

The Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council meets in Riyadh with Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik (Saba News Agency)
The Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council meets in Riyadh with Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik (Saba News Agency)
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Yemen’s PLC Establishes ‘Crisis Cell,’ Stresses End to Banking Distortions

The Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council meets in Riyadh with Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik (Saba News Agency)
The Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council meets in Riyadh with Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik (Saba News Agency)

Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) has ordered the formation of a “crisis cell” headed by Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik to follow up on economic developments. The PLC also stressed the need to end monetary distortions in the banking market.

Houthi militias, on the other hand, continue to reject proposals to renew and expand the truce.

Instead of agreeing to pay the salaries of civil servants, Houthi leaders are threatening to repeat attacks on oil export ports in government-run areas and restarting battles towards southern governorates.

According to Yemeni sources, PLC head Rashad al-Alimi held a meeting for the ruling council in Riyadh.

All members of the PLC contributed to the discussions. While Sultan al-Errada, Abdurrahman al-Mahrami, Abdullah al-Alimi, and Othman Mujalli were present in person, Aidarous Azaibaid, Tariq Saleh and Faraj al-Bahssani contributed to the meeting via video conference.

“The meeting discussed humanitarian and economic conditions. It also tackled policies required to face the current challenges, including government measures limiting the catastrophic repercussions of the Houthi terrorist attacks on oil facilities and global freedom of trade,” Saba News Agency reported.

“The prime minister provided a detailed report about the latest developments in the national arena and the government's ongoing efforts to handle the economic, services, military and security issues.”

Moreover, Abdulmalik briefed the PLC on policies aimed at maintaining economic, monetary, service and commodity stability, and maintaining the public budget deficit at safe levels, in a way that prevents any side effects on vulnerable social groups.

The PLC, for its part, stressed the importance of “ending monetary distortions in exchange rates, including stopping speculation, depleting reserves of hard currencies, and controlling the value of the national currency, which has achieved relative stability during the last period.”

Also, the PLC “affirmed its support for government policies and moving forward with the implementation of the National Defense Council’s decision to classify the Houthi militia as a terrorist organization.”

The PLC said it will take all measures necessary to dry up funding sources for Houthis, secure national facilities and deter any criminal threats to the interests of citizens.



Israel Says Ceasefire with Hezbollah Violated, Fires on South Lebanon

File photo: This picture taken from a position in northern Israel along the border with Lebanon on January 21, 2024 shows smoke billowing over the Lebanese village of Markaba during reported Israeli bombardment, amid ongoing cross-border tensions as fighting continues between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza. (AFP)
File photo: This picture taken from a position in northern Israel along the border with Lebanon on January 21, 2024 shows smoke billowing over the Lebanese village of Markaba during reported Israeli bombardment, amid ongoing cross-border tensions as fighting continues between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza. (AFP)
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Israel Says Ceasefire with Hezbollah Violated, Fires on South Lebanon

File photo: This picture taken from a position in northern Israel along the border with Lebanon on January 21, 2024 shows smoke billowing over the Lebanese village of Markaba during reported Israeli bombardment, amid ongoing cross-border tensions as fighting continues between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza. (AFP)
File photo: This picture taken from a position in northern Israel along the border with Lebanon on January 21, 2024 shows smoke billowing over the Lebanese village of Markaba during reported Israeli bombardment, amid ongoing cross-border tensions as fighting continues between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza. (AFP)

Israeli tank fire hit six areas in southern Lebanon on Thursday and the Israeli military said its ceasefire with Hezbollah was breached after what it called suspects, some in vehicles, arrived at several areas in the southern zone.
A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah took effect on Wednesday under a deal brokered by the US and France, intended to allow people in both countries to start returning to homes in border areas shattered by 14 months of fighting, Reuters said.
The Israeli military had urged residents of towns along the border strip not to return yet for their own safety.
On Thursday morning, Israeli tank fire hit six areas within that border strip, state media and Lebanese security sources said.
The rounds struck Markaba, Wazzani and Kfarchouba, Khiyam, Taybe and the agricultural plains around Marjayoun, all of which lie within two kilometers of the Blue Line demarcating the border between Lebanon and Israel. One of the security sources said two people were wounded in Markaba.
Lebanese families displaced from their homes near the southern border have tried to return to check on their properties. But Israeli troops remain stationed within Lebanese territory in towns along the border and Reuters reporters heard surveillance drones flying over parts of southern Lebanon.
There was no immediate comment on the tank rounds from Hezbollah or Israel, who had been fighting for over a year in parallel with the Gaza war.
The agreement, a rare diplomatic feat in a region racked by conflict, ended the deadliest confrontation between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group in years. But Israel is still fighting its other arch foe, the Palestinian militant group Hamas, in the Gaza Strip.
Under the ceasefire terms, Israeli forces can take up to 60 days to withdraw from southern Lebanon but neither side can launch offensive operations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had instructed the military not to allow residents back to villages near the border.
Lebanon's speaker of parliament Nabih Berri, the top interlocutor for Lebanon in negotiating the deal, had said on Wednesday that residents could return home.
Hezbollah has said its fighters "remain fully equipped to deal with the aspirations and assaults of the Israeli enemy." Its forces will monitor Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon "with their hands on the trigger".
The group has been weakened by casualties and the killing of its leader Hassan Nasrallah and other commanders by Israel.