Houthis say have joined ‘anti-Israel’ front

The Houthi rebels in Yemen have long had an official antisemitic slogan. They say “curse the Jews” and they say “death to Israel” in their chants. However, that was more talk in the past than actual threats to the Jewish state, because the Houthis are several thousand kilometers away.

In recent years this calculation has changed. The Houthis obtained advanced drone and missile technology from Iran. They increasingly are in contact with Hezbollah, with the IRGC in Iran and also with pro-Iran militias in Iraq.

Now they are saying more openly what was said as merely propaganda in the past. The Houthi leader appears on billboards on Iran’s Quds Day, showing him helping liberate Jerusalem. He and other proIran leaders, some of them killed in the past, are seen riding into Jerusalem, observing the Dome of the Rock.

Now the Houthis say they have begun to fundraise for the Palestinians. Iran’s Press TV says that the Houthis are voicing their “full support for the oppressed Palestinian people in their struggles against the occupying entity, saying that the Yemenis are closely coordinating with the resistance axis over the latest developments.” Abdul-Malik Badreddin al-Houthi, a revolutionary movement leader, said on Tuesday that he is “shoulder to shoulder” with the Palestinians fighting Israel.

The Houthis say that Yemen, one of the world’s poorest countries, will raise money for the “resistance.” The Houthi warnings about joining the “resistance” may be mostly talk, but they can have real implications. Over the past two years there have been increasing reports of Houthi threats, including threats to Eilat in southern Israel.

They have long range drones and missiles. In January reports said they had a drone capable of reaching Israel. The US Navy has interdicted arms destined for the Houthis. This week, the US 5th Fleet revealed it stopped a weapons-laden ship from Iran, likely heading for Yemen.

The wider picture is also that the Houthis may have a role in Iraq – and with the proIran militias in Iraq, there is a wider threat heading at Israel through Syria and in linking up with Hezbollah. If Iran wants to coordinate attacks on Israel, such as threats to Israeli shipping that the IRGC has warned about, the Houthis are a natural address.

In addition, Iran’s foreign minister has met the Houthis recently and the US envoy has been trying to work on some way to reduce the war in Yemen between them and the Saudi-backed government. If some in the US policymaking discussion have their way, the Houthis might be able to claim they held the Saudis off and the result could increase threats to other states in the region. The US is critical of the Saudi role in Yemen. The Houthis now have wider regional goals.