British Minister: “Bab al-Mandab” is no less important than “Hormuz”

A British diplomat reported that the importance of the Bab al-Mandab Strait is no less than the Strait of Hormuz and other major shipping lanes around the world.

The British Minister of State for Middle Eastern Affairs, Stephen Doty, said in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat that freedom of navigation is not a theoretical principle. Stressing his country's commitment to working with its allies and partners to keep these waters open and safe.

Doty held the Houthis and the parties that arm and empower them responsible for the escalation in Yemen and the attacks on Saudi Arabia, describing the launching of missiles and drones at airports and civilian places as “unacceptable.” He also held Iranian support for the Houthis a major responsibility for the exacerbation of the conflict and regional instability.

The British Minister reiterated his country's support for Saudi Arabia and the legitimate Yemeni government, noting the deployment of air refueling aircraft, fighters and advisors to support Saudi defense activities. Doty described what is happening in Taiz as “painful,” calling on the Houthis to lift the siege.

The leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, Bafel Talabani, escalated his criticism of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, two days after the party's leader, Masoud Barzani, called on Kurdish forces to dialogue to resolve differences in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Talabani, during his participation in the Sulaymaniyah Strategic Forum, yesterday (Thursday), described what the “Democratic Party” did in the Kurdistan Regional Parliament as “a political collapse in the history of Kurdistan,” saying that closing the doors of Parliament prompted the “National Union” not to recognize the existence of the current parliament.

He added that the region is living in the reality of two governments, accusing a minority within the Democratic Party of rejecting any settlement, to the point of preventing a meeting from being held, even if its purpose was only to take a photo.

Talabani criticized the intervention of US envoy Tom Barrack in the Kurdish disputes, saying that he did not agree with his convictions, calling on the administration of US President Donald Trump to understand the nature of the situation in the region, or to move away and let the political forces in Kurdistan and Iraq deal with their differences on their own.

Five Palestinians were injured, Thursday, in an attack carried out by Israeli settlers on the town of Atara near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, according to a human rights organization, after the Israeli army dismantled two illegal settlement outposts.

The Israeli army, which is under international criticism for settler violence, said it intervened and dismantled two settlement outposts set up by settlers without a permit in the West Bank.

The Israeli human rights organization Yesh Din said in a statement: “After the Israeli army forces left the area, dozens of settlers, armed with sticks, tear gas, and stones, stormed the town of Atara.”

She added: “Five residents were injured and taken to hospital, one of them in serious condition as a result of a cerebral hemorrhage,” according to Agence France-Presse.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society reported that its crews transported a 67-year-old man to the hospital after settlers beat him.

The army said it removed tents, vehicles, and “temporary facilities” set up by settlers in two outposts, one of which was near the town of Atara. He added: “During law enforcement activity near Atara, Israeli rioters barricaded themselves inside facilities” and were dispersed.

In turn, local journalist and one of the town's residents, Abdel Hadi Attari, told Agence France-Presse that the settlers stormed Palestinian homes and vandalized them shortly after the army arrived.

He explained that the army closed the entrances to the town before dismantling the outpost, which “helped the settlers carry out the attack and move freely during the attack inside the village.”

He added: “The children were terrified. Settlers uprooted the doors of houses. Some homes had their doors completely removed, and all their windows smashed.”

With the exception of East Jerusalem, about three million Palestinians live in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, in addition to more than 500,000 Israelis residing in settlements considered illegal under international law, or in unauthorized settlement outposts established without the approval of the Israeli authorities, often in the form of tents or mobile homes.

Settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank has been on the rise for months, after its perpetrators remained largely immune from legal prosecution by the Israeli authorities for years.

In September, a number of countries, including Britain and France, announced the imposition of trade sanctions on settlement products due to the violence.

Last week, France prevented Yossi Dagan, head of the Regional Council of Settlements in the northern West Bank, from entering its territory, according to his office.

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that four hotspots were removed within two days, stressing that “the law applies to everyone.”

In a separate incident, Thursday, settlers set fire to a vehicle and wrote slogans in Hebrew on the walls of a house in the predominantly Christian town of Taybeh, east of Ramallah, according to the Observatory of Christian Presence in the Holy Land.

The observatory, which documents the attacks on the town, said: “This attack is not just an act of sabotage targeting private property, but rather an attack on human dignity, the sanctity of homes, the security of families, and their basic right to live in peace and security on their land.”

Violence escalated in the West Bank, which has been occupied by Israel since 1967, coinciding with the war in the Gaza Strip that broke out on October 7, 2023, following the unprecedented attack launched by the Hamas movement on southern Israel.

At least 1,116 Palestinians, including a number of militants, have been killed by Israeli soldiers or settlers since the outbreak of the Gaza war, according to an Agence France-Presse tally based on data from the Palestinian Authority.

On the other hand, official Israeli data show that at least 51 Israelis, both civilians and soldiers, were killed in attacks carried out by Palestinians or during confrontations with Israeli forces.