Picking Its Next War: Israel Held High-Level Meeting On Houthi ‘Threat’

Click to see full-size image. (Israeli Defense Forces)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz held on November 3 a special discussion with senior security officials, including military and intelligence chiefs, to address the growing threat posed by the Houthis (Ansar Allah) in Yemen.

According to i24NEWS, Netanyahu framed the threat posed by the Houthis as one of the country’s critical security priorities.

“The Houthis look like some minor annoyance. From time to time they fire a ballistic missile at us; we intercept those missiles. It looks like a small thing. It is not a small thing,” he said.

He also described the group, which is allied to Iran, as “fanatical in the most extreme sense you can imagine,” arguing it has the capability to produce ballistic missiles and other weapons and is committed to what he called “the program to annihilate Israel.”

In addition, Netanyahu stressed the threat from Yemen was tangible, not theoretical, and warned it could develop further over time.

“It is, of course, coordinated with Iran, and we will do whatever is necessary to remove this threat as well,” he said. “We will, to say the least, deny it the ability to do so.”

The Houthis engaged in a heated confrontation with Israel following the outbreak of the war in the Gaza Strip. The group attacked ships linked to Israel and launching dozens of missiles and drones at targets in the country. Israel responded by launching multiple waves of strikes against Yemen, killing the Houthis prime minister and mortally wounding the group’s chief of staff last August.

Neither side has engaged the other since a peace plan overseen by the U.S. was put into motion in Gaza last month, in what appears to be a de-facto ceasefire.

However, many observers warned that the end of the war in the Strip will enable Israel to escalate on other fronts like Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq and Iran. The Houthis appear to be well aware of that.

Speaking on November 4, Abdel-Malik al-Houthi, the leader of the group, ordered his forces to prepare for an inevitable confrontation with Israel.

“We are inevitably heading towards more confrontation with the Israeli enemy,” Houthi declared in a televised address, adding that the region will never see peace while Israel occupies Palestine.

He also said that the U.S. “is a partner in Israel’s crimes in Gaza”, and condemned Muslim governments for failing to take a firm stand against Israel.

Houthi accused regional states of echoing Israeli demands to disarm Hezbollah in Lebanon, while Washington “has provided full support to the Israeli enemy and is a complete partner in injustice, genocide, and aggression”.

Israel appears to be to be weeks, or even days, away from launching a military operation against Hezbollah. This will directly lead to the renewal of the confrontation with the Houthis. Netanyahu is clearly preparing not only for this, but also for an escalation with Iraq. The U.S. has already threatened pro-Iranian groups against interfering in upcoming military operations in the region.

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