Yemen Monitor/By Iftikhar Abduh:
The Houthi militia exploited the war on Gaza to recruit many Yemenis, mobilize them to the battlefronts, and attempt to cover up popular demands for rights and services, as well as to further extort citizens in areas under their oppression.
The militia launched extensive recruitment campaigns in government and private universities, technical institutes, schools, and various residential neighborhoods. They also established numerous training camps to train recruits to carry weapons, in addition to indoctrinating them in sectarian ideologies under the pretext of supporting Gaza.
To gain popular and Arab sympathy for Gaza, the militia launched an attack in the Red Sea against ships since November 19, 2023, threatening maritime navigation.
The Red Sea theater, orchestrated by the group, continued to cause significant harm to the Yemeni economy in particular. This was followed by the intervention of the US and Britain in Yemen at the beginning of last year, which led the militia to expand its attacks in the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the Gulf of Aden. It also continued to carry out strikes against Israel, some of which reached Tel Aviv and caused casualties, according to the militia’s claims.
After the announcement of the ceasefire in Gaza, the militia feels a sense of unease, unsure of what it will do to appease the people and gain a popular base domestically and internationally. The slogan of supporting Gaza had been a profitable business for the group.
Last Thursday, the group’s leader announced that the militia would monitor the implementation of the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, while maintaining readiness for military support in case Israel backs down from the agreement, indicating that the group would continue to monitor the stages of implementing the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, and that any Israeli withdrawal or massacres and siege would be met with direct military support for the Palestinian people, according to his claim.
Political analysts believe that the Houthi militia is a bloodthirsty group that only thrives in war, looting, and plunder. Therefore, it may adopt any other pretext, other than supporting Gaza, to resume military escalation in the Red Sea, as it is skilled at creating false slogans that serve its interests in causing more destruction and devastation.
The Houthis’ Justification Has Fallen
Journalist and political analyst Abdulwahab al-Fatki said, “When the Houthi militia began its attacks on ships passing through the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which were linked to Israel or heading to occupied Palestinian ports, or those owned by countries supporting the Israeli entity, most notably the US, thus threatening international trade routes and shipping lanes in this important region, and when it targeted the occupied territories with a number of missiles and drones, it linked all of this to the cessation of the Zionist entity’s military operations and the lifting of the siege on Gaza Strip.”
Al-Fatki added to Yemen Monitor, “The ceasefire in Gaza and the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas have undermined the justification and argument of the Houthi group regarding their military operations in the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and Bab el-Mandeb Strait, or the launch of their cruise missiles and drones at the Zionist entity.”
He added, “It is likely that the Houthi group will resume its operations in the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb, and the Gulf of Aden, or launch missiles and drones at the Zionist entity again, if Iran is subjected to military strikes from the Zionist entity or the US.”
He pointed out, “The Houthi group considers itself the first line of defense for Iran, after it lost its influence in Lebanon after Hezbollah, and in Syria after the control of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and its allies over all Syrian territories and the fall of the Assad regime; therefore, the Houthi group is the alternative to Hezbollah and the Assad regime, and thus any escalation or heating up by the international community against the Iranian regime will be met by Iran instructing the Houthi group to return to its military operations in the Red Sea.”
He continued, “Considering that this would be a kind of Iranian response to the US or to Israel, given that this region is very important to the US, and in Iran’s view, this region exposes US interests and those of its allies to danger.”
He added, “Any new development, especially in the context of the new US administration, if this administration takes decisive and firm steps against the Iranian regime, Iran always uses the external barriers it has planted in Arab countries as a first line of defense, through which Iran manages its battle with the international community in lands that are not its own, as Iran sees that managing the battle from outside Iran is low-cost for it, especially since these militias, or the barriers that Iran has planted, are close to vital and strategic areas for Western interests in general.”
Houthis are in a Catastrophic Situation
In the same context, writer and political analyst Abdu Rabuh Ahmed says, “When the Houthis entered Sana’a, they sought out the Islah party members and killed, arrested, and persecuted their leaders and followers. Now, as usual, they are lying, claiming to support the Hamas movement, knowing that the Islah and Hamas share the same ideology and approach. How can they be so harsh towards the Islah in Yemen and yet soften their hearts towards Hamas in Gaza”?
He added to Yemen Monitor, “It is a sign of great ignorance and stupidity to say that the Houthis supported the heroes of Gaza. The truth is that the Houthi group is a purely cartoonish group, whose only concern is to create a hollow aura for themselves so that the intelligent can mock them and the foolish can believe them, and they themselves believe that they are significant and valuable.”
He added, “If our imagination runs wild and we exaggerate and reach the point where Palestine is liberated and the Houthis and their master in Iran are in Palestine, we will not see the sons of Khamenei, the first of whom are the Houthis, do anything other than remove the preachers from the pulpits, change them, prevent the memorization of the Quran, and kill anyone who opposes them.”
He pointed out that “until a few days ago, the Houthis were living in a state of exuberant joy; they believed themselves to be significant, but today they are in a catastrophic and miserable situation. They, who live only on lies, deceit, applause, and chanting, are now between the choices of silence and the choice of continuing to show off by causing trouble in the seas.”
He continued, “I believe that the habit of this group to be the beaten celebrity will triumph over the necessary calm, and they will try to run here and there and flex their soapy muscles from time to time, but then they will learn, when it is too late to regret, that they are an enemy to themselves before being an enemy to others”.
The Houthis Can Only Thrive in Chaos
Media activist Abu Fahem Fouad Al-Askari said, “Anyone who expects that ending the war on Gaza will stop the Houthis from their mischief, their oppression of the Yemeni people, and their suppression of citizens in the areas they control is naive and foolish. The Houthis can only survive in chaos. They work to create conflict in order to evade the commitments and false promises they made to the citizens before occupying Sana’a.”
Al-Askari added to Yemen Monitor, “It is impossible for the Houthis to live without war; because they realize that peace is not in their favor at all. It will wean them off collecting the money they extort from the people, and employees will demand the payment of salaries, the fulfillment of obligations, and the payment of rights; therefore, they will look for another enemy to fight with a new pretext to deceive those with small minds.”
He added, “The Houthis are ready to become an agent for the Islamic world in order to find another party. They may continue to defend all Palestinians because adopting the Palestinian cause is a profitable business for them and a great gain that comes to them without effort.”
He affirmed that “the Houthis realize that they can only survive through lies and media deception. According to quick data, the Houthis have launched nearly a thousand missiles at Israel,” and those missiles did not scratch a citizen or injure a soldier. The Houthis just love to ride the wave, and they have a history of this. When they moved from Sa’ada and besieged Damaj, they raised the slogan of fighting al-Qaeda and ISIS, and they raised the same slogan when they toppled Amran and occupied Sana’a, then Dhamar, Hajjah, Ibb, Taiz, Aden, Al-Jawf, Marib, Al-Bayda, Lahj, and Shabwa, and all the governorates that they targeted and besieged.”
He continued, “Today, they are raising the same slogan in their oppression of citizens within their own territory. The goal of raising this slogan is to mislead the world and the Arab peoples and send a message to US and Israel that they are fighting al-Qaeda and ISIS to get their support and blessing, then it will be easier for them to mobilize tribal members and give themselves the green light to kill the Yemeni people.”
He added, “The Houthi militia is skilled at using slogans and is good at inventing pretexts to cover up the genocide and indiscriminate war they have been committing against the Yemeni people since their emergence. Therefore, I do not rule out that they may stage a new play through which they can continue to kill, loot, and starve the Yemeni people.”
