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Yemeni Official to Asharq Al-Awsat: Prisoner Swap Will Be Held on April 11

From left, Abdul-Qader al-Murtaza, the head of the Houthi delegation in Geneva, Hans Grundberg, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, and Yahya Mohammed Kazman, representing Yemen government, shake hands during a photo opportunity after the prisoner swap agreement was reached, at the European headquarters of the UN in Geneva, March 20, 2023. (AP)
From left, Abdul-Qader al-Murtaza, the head of the Houthi delegation in Geneva, Hans Grundberg, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, and Yahya Mohammed Kazman, representing Yemen government, shake hands during a photo opportunity after the prisoner swap agreement was reached, at the European headquarters of the UN in Geneva, March 20, 2023. (AP)
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Yemeni Official to Asharq Al-Awsat: Prisoner Swap Will Be Held on April 11

From left, Abdul-Qader al-Murtaza, the head of the Houthi delegation in Geneva, Hans Grundberg, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, and Yahya Mohammed Kazman, representing Yemen government, shake hands during a photo opportunity after the prisoner swap agreement was reached, at the European headquarters of the UN in Geneva, March 20, 2023. (AP)
From left, Abdul-Qader al-Murtaza, the head of the Houthi delegation in Geneva, Hans Grundberg, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, and Yahya Mohammed Kazman, representing Yemen government, shake hands during a photo opportunity after the prisoner swap agreement was reached, at the European headquarters of the UN in Geneva, March 20, 2023. (AP)

Yemeni deputy minister for human rights Majed Fadail revealed that a planned prisoner swap between the legitimate government and Iran-backed terrorist Houthi militias will take place in April.

The official, who is also a member of the government negotiations delegation that took part in the talks with the Houthis over the deal, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the exchange will kick off on April 11 and that 887 prisoners will be released.

The plan, which is sponsored by the United Nations and International Committee of the Red Cross, will take place over three days and involve six airports.

The first phase will see the transport of former Defense Minister Mahmoud al-Subaihi; Nasser Mansour Hadi, brother of former president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi; and military personnel from Sanaa airport to Aden International Airport. In return, several Houthi detainees will be transported from Aden to Sanaa through the same airports.

On April 12, 19 military personnel from the Arab coalition will be transported from Sanaa airport to an airport in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. In exchange, Houthi detainees will be flown from Saudi Arabia’s Khamis Mushait airport to Sanaa.

Fadail said the son and brother of Presidential Leadership Council member Tariq Saleh will be among the detainees who will be released. He will be transported from Sanaa airport to Mokha on Yemen’s western coast. Several Houthi detainees will be released from Mokha to Sanaa in exchange.

The final day of the swap, said Fadail, will witness the transport of four journalists, who have been sentenced to death by the Houthis, and several Yemeni soldiers from Sanaa airport to Tadawin airport in the Marib province. In exchange, Houthi prisoners will be transported from Tadawin airport to Sanaa.

The exchange will not include military commander Faisal Rajab and prominent politician Mohammed Qahtan. The government negotiations had pledged that they will be included in the next round of talks over a swap.

Fadail stressed that the government is prioritizing the release of prisoners and people who have been abducted by the Houthis, hoping that all detainees will be freed through an “all for all” deal.

The latest swap deal was reached on March 11 after ten days of negotiations near the Swiss capital Bern. The talks were the latest in a series of meetings that led to releases of prisoners in 2022 and 2020 under a UN-mediated deal known as the Stockholm Agreement.

United Nations envoy Hans Grundberg and the ICRC are expected to arrange and carry out the latest swap.

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Arab World

Hezbollah Chief Accuses Lebanese Authorities of Working ‘in the Interest of What Israel Wants’

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem
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Hezbollah Chief Accuses Lebanese Authorities of Working ‘in the Interest of What Israel Wants’

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem on Sunday said moves to disarm the group in Lebanon are an "Israeli-American plan,” accusing Israel of failing to abide by a ceasefire agreement sealed last year.

Under heavy US pressure and fears of expanded Israeli strikes, the Lebanese military is expected to complete Hezbollah's disarmament south of the Litani River -- located about 30 kilometers from the border with Israel -- by the end of the year.

It will then tackle disarming the Iran-backed movement in the rest of the country.

"Disarmament is an Israeli-American plan," Qassem said.

"To demand exclusive arms control while Israel is committing aggression and America is imposing its will on Lebanon, stripping it of its power, means that you are not working in Lebanon's interest, but rather in the interest of what Israel wants."

Despite a November 2024 ceasefire that was supposed to end more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, Israel has kept up strikes on Lebanon and has maintained troops in five areas it deems strategic.

According to the agreement, Hezbollah was required to pull its forces north of the Litani River and have its military infrastructure in the vacated area dismantled.

Israel has questioned the Lebanese military's effectiveness and has accused Hezbollah of rearming, while the group itself has rejected calls to surrender its weapons.

"The deployment of the Lebanese army south of the Litani River was required only if Israel had adhered to its commitments... to halting the aggression, withdrawing, releasing prisoners, and having reconstruction commence," Qassem said in a televised address.

"With the Israeli enemy not implementing any of the steps of the agreement... Lebanon is no longer required to take any action on any level before the Israelis commit to what they are obligated to do."

Lebanese army chief Rodolphe Haykal told a military meeting on Tuesday "the army is in the process of finishing the first phase of its plan.”

He said the army is carefully planning "for the subsequent phases" of disarmament.

Arab World

Israel Army Ends Crackdown on West Bank Town after Attack

Smoke rises following an explosion detonated by the Israeli army, which said it was destroying buildings used by Palestinian militants in the West Bank Jenin refugee camp, Sunday, February 2, 2025. © Majdi Mohammed, AP
Smoke rises following an explosion detonated by the Israeli army, which said it was destroying buildings used by Palestinian militants in the West Bank Jenin refugee camp, Sunday, February 2, 2025. © Majdi Mohammed, AP
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Israel Army Ends Crackdown on West Bank Town after Attack

Smoke rises following an explosion detonated by the Israeli army, which said it was destroying buildings used by Palestinian militants in the West Bank Jenin refugee camp, Sunday, February 2, 2025. © Majdi Mohammed, AP
Smoke rises following an explosion detonated by the Israeli army, which said it was destroying buildings used by Palestinian militants in the West Bank Jenin refugee camp, Sunday, February 2, 2025. © Majdi Mohammed, AP

The Israeli military said on Sunday it had ended its operation in a town in the occupied West Bank that it had sealed off after a Palestinian from the area killed two Israelis.

Around 50 residents of Qabatiya were briefly detained during the two-day operation, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported, quoting the town's mayor Ahmed Zakarneh.

The attacker's father and two brothers remained in custody, it added.

The military launched the operation on Friday, shortly after a 34-year-old Palestinian fatally stabbed an 18-year-old Israeli woman and ran over a man in his sixties with his vehicle.

When contacted by AFP on Sunday morning, the military confirmed the end of its operation in the area.

Defense Minister Israel Katz previously said the army had completely sealed off the town.

Wafa also reported that Israeli troops had withdrawn from Qabatiya, near the city of Jenin.

Zakarneh said the town had been in a state of "total paralysis" during the military activity.

Israeli army bulldozers tore up pavement on several streets and erected roadblocks to halt traffic, he said, adding that around 50 houses were searched.

Wafa reported that a school had been turned into a detention and interrogation center.

AFPTV footage filmed on Saturday showed Israeli soldiers carrying automatic rifles and patrolling the streets, where several armoured vehicles were deployed.

Shops were closed, though men and children were seen walking through the village.

On Sunday, the Israeli army said it had sealed off the assailant's home and was finalising "the procedures required for its demolition".

Israeli authorities argue that demolishing the homes of Palestinians who carry out attacks against Israelis has a deterrent effect.

Critics, however, condemn the practice as collective punishment that leaves families homeless.

Arab World

Arab League Council Holds Extraordinary Session on Latest Developments in Somalia

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
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Arab League Council Holds Extraordinary Session on Latest Developments in Somalia

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)

At the request of the Federal Republic of Somalia and with the support of Arab League member states, the Arab League Council on Sunday began its extraordinary session at the league’s General Secretariat, at the level of permanent representatives and under the chairmanship of the United Arab Emirates, to discuss developments regarding the Israeli occupation authorities’ declaration on mutual recognition with the Somaliland region.

The Kingdom’s delegation to the meeting was headed by its Permanent Representative to the Arab League Ambassador Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-Matar, SPA reported.

The meeting is discussing ways to strengthen the unified Arab position in addressing this step, to affirm full solidarity with Somalia, and to support its legitimate institutions in a manner that contributes to preserving security and stability in the region.

The meeting also aims to reaffirm the Arab League’s categorical rejection of any unilateral measures or decisions that could undermine Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to emphasize commitment to the principles of international law and the relevant resolutions of the Arab League and the African Union.