A Houthi drone attack targeting Makkah on Tuesday was not the first of its kind, but followed an earlier ballistic missile attack in July 2017, according to Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki, spokesperson for the Saudi-led Arab Coalition.
The Coalition said firmly that “the security of the Two Holy Mosques and the pilgrims is a red line, and the Joint Forces Command of the Arab Coalition will not hesitate to take the necessary deterrent measures against the terrorist Houthi militia and its hostile and terrorist conduct.”
By targeting Makkah with a drone, which the Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces intercepted and destroyed south of the city, the Houthis committed a new violation against Islamic holy sites and places of worship.
The incident followed an attack on a mosque in Al-Tuwal governorate in Jazan on Saturday, as well as an attack launched from Iraqi territory toward Madinah, revealing a pattern of conduct by the militias.
A Coalition statement said the incident “can only be described as a disgraceful act — an attempt to target the cradle of revelation, the land of the divine message and a destination cherished by millions of Muslims from around the world.”
It said the attack also sought to terrorize pilgrims visiting the Grand Mosque and harm citizens and residents.
“This hostile attempt will remain a black mark on the record of violations committed by the extremist terrorist Houthi militia, as it was a deliberate act intended to provoke the feelings of millions of Muslims,” the statement said.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry’s condemnation, along with broad expressions of solidarity from several Arab and Islamic countries and other states in the region and around the world, reflected the gravity of the Houthi action.
The countries also commended the Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces for intercepting the hostile drone before it entered the restricted airspace over the holy city of Makkah.
Violation of international law
Under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, intentionally targeting mosques and other places of worship is prohibited as long as they are not military objectives. Such attacks constitute war crimes in both international and non-international armed conflicts.
Places of worship of cultural or spiritual importance also receive additional protection under Article 53 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions and Article 16 of Additional Protocol II.
Rule 38 of customary international humanitarian law further requires special care to avoid damage to buildings dedicated to religious purposes.
Consequently, deliberate attacks on mosques and places of worship during armed conflict constitute violations of international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes when the sites are not military objectives.
Targeting regional security
Khaled al-Habbas, a former assistant secretary-general for political affairs at the Arab League, told Asharq Al-Awsat that attacks on Saudi Arabia by Iran-aligned militias underscored the functional role those groups play as proxies directed by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards to destabilize security in the region.
He said Iran had sought to target the kingdom through its regional proxies because of Saudi Arabia’s standing and influence regionally and internationally, its spiritual and economic importance, and its role as the strategic depth of the Gulf states and the heart of the Arab and Islamic worlds.
In reality, he said, targeting Saudi Arabia amounted to targeting the security and stability of the entire region, as well as regional and international security.
Aggression against the Islamic world
Al-Habbas said the escalation came as Iran’s regional role was receding, including a decline in its ability to control the Strait of Hormuz.
He described the conduct of Iran’s proxies and their aggression against Saudi Arabia as evidence of a lack of ethical restraint, a failure to respect the principles of good-neighborly relations and a disregard for international law and the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter.
Al-Habbas said attacks on holy sites constituted a grave violation of their sanctity and blatant aggression against all Islamic countries, requiring condemnation and firm action.
“Despite the kingdom’s consistent approach of seeking de-escalation and supporting a political settlement, it unquestionably has the right to defend its security and stability,” he said.
“Arab and Islamic countries must also stand against the arrogance and aggression of Iran and its proxies.”
Al-Habbas also called for a firm international stance against the militias’ aggression, saying regional security was inseparable from international security because of the region’s geostrategic and economic importance.
Political analyst Abdul Latif al-Mulhim described such attacks as a continuation of the Houthi militia’s systematic hostile approach and its attacks on residential areas and critical facilities, in flagrant defiance of international and humanitarian laws and conventions.
He said the attacks embodied the group’s extremist criminal conduct, its rejection of all peace efforts and the threat it posed to regional and international security and stability.
The international community must fulfill its responsibilities
Al-Habbas and al-Mulhim agreed that the timing of the attacks, coinciding with the militia’s control of the Bab al-Mandab Strait and its restrictions on maritime traffic, offered the world and the international community a clear picture of the conduct to be expected from the group if it continued its actions.
They said the situation also warned of an imminent threat to the region’s security and economic future if the international community delayed fulfilling its responsibility to combat the group’s criminal activities.
