SANAA.- The spokesman for the Houthi rebel movement, Mohamed Abdelsalam, considered it an “honor” that his group has been designated today as “terrorist” by the United States and affirmed that this will not change “Yemen’s position in support of Palestine”.
“The US designation has no value and this will not change Yemen’s position in support of Palestinebut we consider it as a medal of honor for supporting the Palestinian resistance in Gaza, while The United States exercises its aggression against Yemen“, he indicated on his official X account (formerly Twitter).
He noted that it is the “arrogant policies” of the United States and its “support for the Zionist criminal entity,” in reference to Israel, that are the “true sponsors of the terrorism”.
“You can call us whatever you want,” say Houthis
In a statement, the Houthi political office stated that this designation is “ridiculous behavior” as well as an “injustice” that is part of “American disinformation and its failed attempt to distort the reputation of Ansar Allah (Houthis) and of the Yemeni people.”
This decision, he explained, “affects all Yemenisand this is what makes us declare our absolute rejection of this arrogant measure against a people who never crossed the borders of their homeland to attack to others, it did not launch destructive wars for decades against others, it did not plunder the wealth of any people, it did not establish a State on the ruins of the indigenous population and it did not support an entity of settler occupiers at the expense of another people.
The political office also considered that Washington “does not have the right to determine for Yemen who are its friends and who are its enemies,” and urged them to review “their positions towards the people of the region and abandon their aggressive policies against Yemen. Palestine and the entire region.”
On the other hand, Mohamed al Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthi political bureau, noted in his X account that this decision “does not contribute anything new.”
“This adds to the fact that Ansar Allah (Houthis) enjoys great popular support these days that is unparalleled at the local, Arab, Islamic and international levels,” he said.
Furthermore, this decision “will undermine the credibility of the US administration before the people of the world because The terrorist is the one who supports and protects the perpetrators of the genocide and not the one who fights to stop it,” he asserted.
Al Bukhaiti concluded by saying that the Houthis are “men of war,” but also of peace, urging the United States and the United Kingdom to “stop the crimes of genocide in Gaza and end their aggression against Yemen.”
If they do, they will stop “all” their military operations “immediately and automatically.”
“The ball is in their court and they can call us whatever they want,” he concluded.
The US could consider reversing the decision
The US designation of Houthi rebels as “terrorists” arrives days after The United States and the United Kingdom began a bombing campaign against the group’s military targets in Yemen due to insurgent attacks against ships linked to Israel in the red sea and the Bab al Mandeb Strait, which have seriously affected international maritime trade.
The designation will take effect within 30 days, on February 16, although in a call with journalists, US officials assured that The US will “consider” suspending it if the Houthis stop their attacks in the Red Sea.
In the 30 days until the measure comes into effect, the United States also intends to “design” the implementation of the sanctions that the designation entails so that they affect the civilian population to the least possible extent.
In fact, the Joe Biden Administration has chosen to classify the Houthi group as a “Specifically Designated Global Terrorist” (SDGT) instead of including it on the “Foreign Terrorist Organization” (FTO) list because the sanctions that it entails are milder.
For example, the SDGT designation does not imply sanctions for those who provide “material support” to the Houthis and does not provide for travel bans, as being included on the FTO list does.
He Yemen, at war since the end of 2014 between the Houthis and the internationally recognized Yemeni government, is suffering one of the greatest humanitarian catastrophes on the planet, according to the UN.
