Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi discussed developments in the region’s situation and files related to its security and stability, most notably the security and freedom of maritime navigation, and coordination of efforts regarding them.
During their meeting at the Federal Palace in Cairo yesterday, the two sides reviewed ways to enhance strategic relations between the two countries in various fields, and topics of common interest on the Arab and Islamic arenas.
The Egyptian presidency stated in a statement that President Sisi renewed his country’s firm position in supporting Saudi Arabia and all Arab countries in the face of the current circumstances, and its rejection of any attacks on the Kingdom or freedom of maritime navigation. She pointed out that the two leaders agreed that the current circumstances require more solidarity and coordination between the two countries.
Observers that Asharq Al-Awsat spoke to agreed that the security file in the Red Sea and ways to secure international shipping lines are among the most prominent aspects of cooperation between the two countries, especially in light of regional tensions and ongoing threats to global supply chains.
The repeated attacks on places of worship highlight the extent of the contradiction between the declared rhetoric of the Houthi militias and their behavior on the ground. The Iranian-backed group seeks to cover itself in the guise of religion and adopt sectarian slogans to pass its military agenda, while its practices reflect a reality that confirms its functional role in implementing regional plans that destabilize the security of the region and target its religious and civil components.
The pace of attacks by the Houthi group witnessed a systematic escalation that targeted Islamic holy sites and civilian objects inside Saudi Arabia, including attempted attacks on the cities of Mecca and Medina, in addition to causing material damage to a mosque and wounding civilians in the Jazan region. In flagrant violation of the principles of international humanitarian law.
The Saudi Civil Defense issued several alerts to warn of dangers threatening the cities of Mecca, Jeddah, and Taif, before later announcing that the danger had passed from the holy capital.
The Houthi attacks ranged between launching ballistic missiles and explosive drones, as Saudi air defense systems succeeded in intercepting and confronting most of the threats before they reached their targets.
The recent attempts towards Mecca come days after a military projectile fired by militias fell on civilian objects in Al-Tuwal Governorate in the Jazan region (southern Saudi Arabia). A Civil Defense statement confirmed that the attack resulted in damage to a mosque and a number of nearby buildings and cars.
The authorities in Saudi Arabia indicated that the direct intention to target places of worship and residential areas represents a clear violation of international agreements that prohibit the involvement of religious and civilian facilities in military operations.
Exceeding military dimensions
From the perspective of Islamic law, mosques enjoy a sanctity guaranteed by explicit texts that require their maintenance and prohibit their being accessed or transformed into battlefields in situations of peace and war alike.
The recent attack that damaged a mosque in the Jazan region constitutes additional evidence of the militia’s violation of legal principles and Islamic values, which reveals its use of religious cover as a tool for political misinformation and to cover up its violations against civilian objects and places of worship.
Dr. Qais Al-Mubarak, a former member of the Council of Senior Scholars in Saudi Arabia, said: “Preserving oneself is one of the foundations of the interests necessary for creation, and the Muslim is commanded to take care of it and do everything that would preserve it. Muslims have unanimously agreed on that, and this meaning is confirmed if the killing takes place in places of worship.”
Dr. Al-Mubarak stressed that what the Houthis did in Yemen, harming the people of Yemen and demolishing the homes of their owners, is one of the greatest abominations. He added: “Today, they are throwing at the holy places in the Two Holy Mosques, without taking into account the visitors of the Two Holy Mosques, and what may befall them of these random attacks, which affect the young, the old, and children. It is a great abomination that no nation will accept, and it is forbidden by all laws. It is only done by those who do not consider human beings to have value or respect. Preserving souls is agreed upon among Muslims.”
For his part, Dr. Yousef Al-Rumaih, security advisor and professor of combating crime and terrorism at Qassim University, said that the Houthi terrorist attacks on holy places inside Saudi Arabia indicate its disdain for the most basic Islamic principles, despite its pretending to represent religion and commitment to Sharia, but in reality, this did not go beyond mere slogans, while it targets with its absurd projectiles the holiest of Muslims’ sanctities.
Al-Rumaih stressed that this terrorist group is dependent on regional agendas and targets the side of Saudi Arabia, which includes the qibla of Muslims, pointing to the negative effects that dependence on regional agendas has had on many countries in the Arab region, as it left them vulnerable to divisions and spoiled their stability and societal peace.
Al-Rumaih called on the elites of the Islamic nation and its institutions to confront the behavior of the terrorist “Houthi” group, whose evils have affected Islamic sanctities, pointing out the importance of starting the confrontation from an intellectual standpoint that strips the group of its false claims and reveals its truth in attacking the security of societies and the stability of countries.
Dr. Muhammad Al-Omari, a researcher in the history of Sharia sciences, said that the recent Houthi attacks went beyond the military and security dimensions to constitute a direct assault on the sanctity of Islamic sanctities and a provocation to the feelings of more than two billion Muslims around the world.
Al-Omari pointed out that the sequence of these attacks, from the repeated attempts to target the areas of Mecca and Medina, all the way to the exposure of a mosque in the Jazan region to material damage, reflects a rush towards violating the sanctity of the houses of God that were established for worship and safety, and it is not permissible to involve them or approach them in military conflicts.
He added: “Makkah Al-Mukarramah is not just a geographical point, but rather it is the Sacred Land and the qibla of Muslims, and approaching its security or targeting the mosques of God in any region is an assault on the general Islamic faith and conscience. Saudi Arabia, under its leadership and people, remains committed to the honor of protecting and caring for the Two Holy Mosques, and preserving the security of these holy places against any threat.”
Previous attacks on holy sites
The recent attacks constitute an extension of a record of attempts during which the Houthi militia targeted Islamic holy sites and vital infrastructure used to serve the guests of God.
In October 2016, the Makkah Al-Mukarramah area witnessed the launch of a Burkan 1 ballistic missile towards the Makkah Al-Mukarramah area, where it was intercepted by the Royal Saudi air defense systems and destroyed in the air 65 kilometers from the Holy Capital, without recording any damage.
In July 2017, coinciding with the Hajj season, Saudi Arabia intercepted a ballistic missile launched by the Houthi militia towards the Makkah Al-Mukarramah region. It was targeting the area surrounding the holy capital, a few weeks before the start of the Hajj rituals.
In addition to the repeated attacks on border mosques, and the falling of military projectiles on mosques and civilian objects in the border governorates of the Jizan and Najran regions, resulting in material damage to places of worship and injuries among civilians.
Dr. Al-Omari said that this historical evidence reflects “the Houthi approach to cross-border attacks in targeting civilian objects and religious facilities, in exchange for the continued readiness of air defense systems to neutralize these dangers and protect pilgrims to the Holy House of God and Umrah performers.”
On Tuesday, there were continued Arab, Islamic and international condemnations of the attacks launched by the Houthi group with missiles and drones on civilians, civil installations and Islamic holy sites in Saudi Arabia, amid affirmations of full solidarity with the Kingdom, and refusal to target its lands and violate its sovereignty.
Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, and the UAE condemned the Houthi attacks, affirming their support for Saudi Arabia in all the legitimate measures it takes to preserve its sovereignty and security, and rejecting the targeting of civilians and civilian and economic facilities.
The Arab positions stressed the need to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states, warning of the repercussions of escalation on the security and stability of the region.
For his part, Jassim Al-Budaiwi, Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, condemned in the strongest terms the “sinful terrorist attacks” that the Houthi militia continues to commit against Saudi Arabia, and its deliberate and repeated targeting of civilian objects and civilians with ballistic missiles and drones, describing the escalation as “dangerous criminal” that confirms the militia’s terrorist approach.
The Muslim World League, the Arab Parliament, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the Council of Arab Interior Ministers also expressed their full solidarity with Saudi Arabia in all the measures it takes to deter aggressors and preserve its security and the safety of its citizens and residents of its lands.
During an emergency session held by the UN Security Council to discuss developments in Bab al-Mandeb, the United Nations condemned the attacks by the Houthi militia on the civilian infrastructure and energy sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, stressing the need to protect the security of the Red Sea, and to restore the rights and freedoms of navigation in the Bab al-Mandab Strait and respect them in accordance with international law and relevant Security Council resolutions. The Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations for Middle East, Asia and Pacific Affairs, Khaled Khiari, referred to the attacks that the Kingdom has been exposed to during the past days. He stressed the need to restore rights Freedoms of navigation in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait are respected in accordance with international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, including Resolution 2722, warning that the repercussions of disturbances in the sea lanes will extend to international peace and security, global energy markets, food security, and the economies of the most vulnerable countries.
In addition, the European Union Regional Office for Media and Communication in the Middle East and North Africa strongly condemned the attack launched by the Houthi group on Saudi Arabia.
The office affirmed, through its official account on the “X” platform, the European Union’s solidarity with its partners in the Gulf region in the face of the ongoing attacks carried out by groups loyal to Iran.
He pointed out that the European Union will continue to work with its regional partners to ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and maintain stability in the Middle East region, stressing that this is in the interest of all parties.
These condemnations come after Houthi attacks targeted 7 Saudi regions, in an escalation that threatens to expand the scope of regional tension, as the Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen announced, at dawn on Tuesday, that 13 civilians were injured with minor and moderate injuries, and 7 residential homes and two vehicles were damaged, as a result of attacks by the Houthi terrorist militia.
