The Netherlands Engages In Support for Morocco’s Autonomy Plan

Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and his Dutch counterpart Wopke Hoekstra in Marrakesh on Wednesday (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and his Dutch counterpart Wopke Hoekstra in Marrakesh on Wednesday (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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The Netherlands Engages In Support for Morocco’s Autonomy Plan

Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and his Dutch counterpart Wopke Hoekstra in Marrakesh on Wednesday (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and his Dutch counterpart Wopke Hoekstra in Marrakesh on Wednesday (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Netherlands considered on Wednesday the autonomy plan, presented in 2007 by Morocco, as "a serious and credible contribution to the UN-led political process" to find a solution to the Sahara issue.

By this new position, expressed in the joint statement issued after the talks between Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and his Dutch counterpart Wopke Hoekstra, the Netherlands has clearly joined the international momentum of support for the Moroccan autonomy plan to definitively close the dispute over the Moroccan Sahara.

The Netherlands is the third European country to join this international momentum following Germany and Spain.

The new position of The Hague also comes in the wake of the support expressed by the United States, Germany, Spain and even the Philippines in favor of the autonomy initiative presented by Morocco in 2007 as the only basis for ending this dispute.

In the joint statement following the Bourita-Hoekstra talks, The Netherlands and Morocco reaffirmed their support for the UN Secretary General's Personal Envoy for the Sahara, Staffan de Mistura, and his efforts to continue "a political process aimed at reaching a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution", in accordance with the resolutions of the Security Council and the aims and principles set out in the UN Charter.

The meeting of Bourita with the Dutch FM took place Wednesday in Marrakech on the sidelines of the ministerial meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.



US Targets Houthis with Fresh Sanctions Action

Houthi members ride a pick-up truck while on patrol amid tensions with Israel, in Sanaa, Yemen, 18 July 2025. (EPA)
Houthi members ride a pick-up truck while on patrol amid tensions with Israel, in Sanaa, Yemen, 18 July 2025. (EPA)
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US Targets Houthis with Fresh Sanctions Action

Houthi members ride a pick-up truck while on patrol amid tensions with Israel, in Sanaa, Yemen, 18 July 2025. (EPA)
Houthi members ride a pick-up truck while on patrol amid tensions with Israel, in Sanaa, Yemen, 18 July 2025. (EPA)

The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on what it said was a Houthi-linked petroleum smuggling and sanctions evasion network across Yemen and the United Arab Emirates in fresh action targeting the Iran-backed militant group.

The US Treasury Department in a statement said the two individuals and five entities sanctioned on Tuesday were among the most significant importers of petroleum products and money launderers that benefit the Houthis.

"The Houthis collaborate with opportunistic businessmen to reap enormous profits from the importation of petroleum products and to enable the group’s access to the international financial system," said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Michael Faulkender.

"These networks of shady businesses underpin the Houthis’ terrorist machine, and Treasury will use all tools at its disposal to disrupt these schemes."

Among those targeted on Tuesday was Muhammad Al-Sunaydar, who the Treasury said manages a network of petroleum companies between Yemen and the United Arab Emirates and was one of the most prominent petroleum importers in Yemen.

Three companies in his network were also designated, with the Treasury saying they coordinated the delivery of approximately $12 million dollars’ worth of Iranian petroleum products with a US-designated company to the Houthis.

Since Israel's war in Gaza against the Palestinian group Hamas began in October 2023, the Iran-aligned Houthis have been attacking vessels in the Red Sea in what they say are acts of solidarity with the Palestinians.

In January, Trump re-designated the Houthi movement as a foreign terrorist organization, aiming to impose harsher economic penalties in response to its attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and against US warships defending the critical maritime area.

In May, the United States announced a surprise deal with the Houthis where it agreed to stop a bombing campaign against them in return for an end to shipping attacks, though the Houthis said the deal did not include sparing Israel.

The Israeli military attacked Houthi targets in Yemen's Hodeidah port on Monday in its latest assault on the militants, who have been striking ships bound for Israel and launching missiles against it.