New Peace Plan in Yemen Awaits Finishing Touches

Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman meets with Chairman of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad Al-Alimi in Riyadh. (SPA)
Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman meets with Chairman of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad Al-Alimi in Riyadh. (SPA)
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New Peace Plan in Yemen Awaits Finishing Touches

Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman meets with Chairman of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad Al-Alimi in Riyadh. (SPA)
Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman meets with Chairman of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad Al-Alimi in Riyadh. (SPA)

New efforts are underway to resolve the Yemeni crisis as it enters its ninth year. An informed Yemeni source revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat that a comprehensive peace document is being drafted.

Sponsored by the United Nations, the finishing touches are being made to the draft that covers several phases.

The first phase of peace would include a nationwide ceasefire, reopening of all land, air and sea routes, the merger of the central banks and complete prisoner swap deals.

Meanwhile, Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman reiterated the Kingdom’s constant support to Yemen.

He held talks in Riyadh with Chairman of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad Al-Alimi. The minister underlined Saudi Arabia’s backing to the work of the PLC as it pursues security and stability in Yemen.

Prince Khalid and Al-Alimi discussed the latest efforts to revive the peace process in line with a UN-sponsored comprehensive political process.

A spokesman for the Iran-backed Houthi militias had announced earlier this week that Houthi officials had met with UN envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg in Oman for talks on the political and humanitarian arrangements of the comprehensive solution, as well as a prisoner swap.

Three phases

The latest peace plan for Yemen would take place over three stages. The first would take up six months, the second three and the final one two years. The informed sources said the timetable is still not finalized.

The plan would kick off with the declaration of a ceasefire and the formation of a committee that would oversee the merger of the central banks. A prisoner swap would be held and trust-building measures between the warring parties would be carried out.

The parties would then hold direct negotiations to establish how the Yemenis envision a state. This would then be followed by a transitional period.

The plan also calls for reopening all land, air and sea routes and lifting all restrictions on travel so that life could return to normal in government- and Houthi-held regions.

A comprehensive economic reform process, with Saudi Arabia’s backing, would also get underway. The source revealed that a committee, comprised of the PLC presidency, Yemeni prime minister and Saudi experts, has been formed to tackle the reforms. The committee is set to meet in the coming days.

The government has submitted its response and proposed amendments to the peace plan, revealed the source. It has demanded guarantees that the Houthis would not attempt to undermine the plan or renege on pledges.

The source expected a ceasefire to be declared in the coming days, for the truce to be consolidated and for fighting to stop at battlefronts. Other arrangements will need weeks to be implemented.

He added that the Houthis are escalating the situation on all military fronts to make the most gains before a ceasefire is declared.

Wary reaction

The Yemeni people are hoping that the latest peace efforts would end the war in their country and the coup by the Houthis against the legitimate government.

Chairman of Aden's Chamber of Commerce and Industry Abu Bakr Ba Obaid told Asharq Al-Awsat that he hoped change would take place in Yemen towards the better.

This change demands that the Yemenis abandon the revolution mindset and set their sights on construction and growth, he added.

Activists and researchers have warned against being too optimistic over the latest talk about peace. They said the Houthis remain untrustworthy, as demonstrated by how they failed to respect last year’s nationwide ceasefire and refused to reopen routes to Taiz city, one of the key demands of the truce.

Senior analyst at the International Crisis Group (ICG) Ahmed Nagi said the latest peace plan will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the lives of the Yemeni people and ease their humanitarian suffering.

He also said the plan would likely ease the military and political tensions and possibly lead to more understandings between the warring parties in the future. He noted that the announcement that Saudi Arabia and Iran were restoring their diplomatic relations would also have a positive impact in Yemen.

The optimism does not mean that the legacy of eight years of war will be erased any time soon, he warned. Quick solutions will fail in addressing the catastrophic situation in the country. The solutions must focus on the causes of the conflict and contain its consequences.

Mokhtar Abdullah, a store owner in the interim capital, Aden, welcomed the peace plan, saying the Yemenis have waited years for such news. He hoped the Yemeni parties would rise up to the occasion and work towards the public good, not their own interests.



Palestinian Envoy Tells UN Court that Israel is Killing Civilians and Targeting Aid Workers in Gaza

A Palestinian flag flies outside the International Court of Justice, rear, which opened hearings into a United Nations request for an advisory opinion on Israel's obligations to allow humanitarian assistance in Gaza and the West Bank, in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
A Palestinian flag flies outside the International Court of Justice, rear, which opened hearings into a United Nations request for an advisory opinion on Israel's obligations to allow humanitarian assistance in Gaza and the West Bank, in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
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Palestinian Envoy Tells UN Court that Israel is Killing Civilians and Targeting Aid Workers in Gaza

A Palestinian flag flies outside the International Court of Justice, rear, which opened hearings into a United Nations request for an advisory opinion on Israel's obligations to allow humanitarian assistance in Gaza and the West Bank, in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
A Palestinian flag flies outside the International Court of Justice, rear, which opened hearings into a United Nations request for an advisory opinion on Israel's obligations to allow humanitarian assistance in Gaza and the West Bank, in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

A Palestinian diplomat has told the United Nations’ top court that Israel is killing and displacing civilians and targeting aid workers in Gaza in a “man-made catastrophe of unprecedented proportions.”

Ambassador Ammar Hijazi was speaking Monday at the opening of a week of hearings at the International Court of Justice into Israel’s legal obligations to facilitate aid in the occupied territories, The Associated Press said.

Israel denies deliberately targeting civilians and aid staff.

The United Nations’ highest court opened hearings Monday into Israel’s obligation to “ensure and facilitate” urgently needed humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians in the occupied territories, bringing the ongoing conflict in Gaza back into focus in The Hague.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called the hearings part of a “systematic persecution and delegitimization” of his country. Speaking in Jerusalem as the hearings began in The Hague, Saar said the court was “becoming completely politicized.” He called the proceeding “shameful.”

A week of hearings has been scheduled in response to a request last year from the UN General Assembly, which asked the International Court of Justice to weigh in on Israel’s legal responsibilities after the country blocked the UN agency for Palestinian refugees from operating on its territory.

In a resolution sponsored by Norway, the General Assembly requested an advisory opinion, a non-binding but legally important decision from the court, on Israel's obligations in the occupied territories to "ensure and facilitate the unhindered provision of urgently needed supplies essential to the survival of the Palestinian civilian population?”

Hearings open as the humanitarian aid system in Gaza is nearing collapse. Israel has blocked the entry of food, fuel, medicine and other humanitarian supplies since March 2. It renewed its bombardment on March 18, breaking a ceasefire, and seized large parts of the territory, saying it aims to push Hamas to release more hostages. Despite the stepped-up Israeli pressure, ceasefire efforts remain deadlocked.

The World Food Program said last week its food stocks in the Gaza Strip have run out under Israel’s nearly 8-week-old blockade, ending a main source of sustenance for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the territory. Many families are struggling to feed their children.

The United Nations was the first to address the court on Monday, followed by Palestinian representatives. In total, 40 states and four international organizations are scheduled to participate. Israel is not scheduled to speak during the hearings, but could submit a written statement. Israel's Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The United States, which voted against the UN resolution, is scheduled to speak on Wednesday.

The court will likely take months to rule. But experts say the decision, though not legally binding, could profoundly impact international jurisprudence, international aid to Israel and public opinion.

“Advisory opinions provide clarity,” Juliette McIntyre, an expert on international law at the University of South Australia, told The Associated Press. Governments rely on them in international negotiations and the outcome could be used to pressure Israel into easing restrictions on aid.

Whether any ruling will have an effect on Israel, however, is unclear. Israel has long accused the United Nations of being unfairly biased against it and has ignored a 2004 advisory ruling by the ICJ that found its West Bank separation barrier illegal.

On Tuesday, South Africa, a staunch critic of Israel, will present its arguments. In hearings last year in a separate case at the court, the country accused Israel of committing genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza — a charge Israel denies. Those proceedings are still underway.

Israel's troubled relations with UNRWA

Israel’s ban on the agency, known as UNRWA, came into effect in January. The organization has faced increased criticism from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right allies, who claim the group is deeply infiltrated by Hamas. UNRWA rejects that claim.

Israel alleged that 19 out of UNRWA’s approximately 13,000 staff in Gaza took part in Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack in southern Israel, which killed about 1,200 people and set off the war in Gaza. UNRWA said it fired nine staffers after an internal UN investigation concluded that they could have been involved, although the evidence was not authenticated and corroborated. Israel later alleged that about 100 other Palestinians in Gaza were Hamas members, but never provided any evidence to the United Nations. Israel has also accused Hamas of using UN facilities for cover, building tunnels near UN buildings and diverting aid deliveries for its own use.

The Israeli ban doesn't apply directly to Gaza. But it controls all entry to the territory, and its ban on UNRWA from operating inside Israel greatly limits the agency's ability to function. Israeli officials say they are looking for alternative ways to deliver aid to Gaza that would cut out the United Nations.

UNRWA was established by the UN General Assembly in 1949 to provide relief for Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their homes in what is now Israel during the war surrounding Israel's creation the previous year until there is a political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The agency has been providing aid and services — including health and education — to some 2.5 million Palestinians in Gaza, the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, as well as 3 million more in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon.

Israel’s air and ground war has killed over 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 militants, without providing evidence.