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Yemen: Palestinian resistance praises Houthi decision to block Israel-bound ships

December 10, 2023 at 3:02 pm

Spokesperson for the Houthi-supported Yemeni army, Brigadier Yahya Saree on 14 September 2019 [AFP/Getty Images]

Palestinian resistance factions Hamas and Islamic Jihad (PIJ) have lauded Yemen’s Houthi-led government over its decision to impose a ban on the passage of all ships bound for Israel, via the Red Sea.

Yesterday, in a statement Hamas said “We consider the decision to be a brave and bold decision,” adding that Sanaa’s position “stands against the Zionist-American aggressors that have continued the war of genocide and massacres against all components of the human life of our Palestinian people over the past 64 days.”

The resistance movement also called on Arab and Muslim-majority countries to use all their abilities and resources “to break the Israeli siege of Gaza; prevent the continuation of the regime’s massacres and the war of starvation and thirst; and stop the Nazi aggression launched by Israel with direct support of the United States.”

PIJ also said “We see in the position of the Yemeni people, their leadership, and their armed forces an authentic Arab and Islamic position.” It noted that the Yemeni decision came at a historic moment and expressed “the depth of the authentic belonging to the Yemeni people and their valiant leadership.”

The statements come as the spokesman for the Yemeni armed forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree warned yesterday that “if Gaza does not receive the food and medicines it needs,” all the ships passing through Yemen’s territorial waters towards the occupied state would turn into a “legitimate target.”

He reiterated the army’s commitment to upholding the continuation of the trade movement of all countries and ships except for those linked to Israeli or those transporting goods to Israeli ports.

Yemen has vowed to continue launching operations, including drones and missiles towards Israel, and seizing or targeting Israeli-linked vessels in the Red Sea, as long as the occupation state continues its genocidal war against Gaza, which has so far claimed the lives of over 17,000 people and injured almost 50,000 others.

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