EPAIn the background the ship Galaxy Leader, which was hijacked by the Houthis
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 19:46
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Daisy Mohr
Middle East Correspondent
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Daisy Mohr
Middle East Correspondent
The problems in the Red Sea are piling up. The Danish shipping company Maersk decided again today to halt the important sea route after one of its ships was attacked by Houthi rebels. The NOS spoke with a political representative of the Houthis. He believes attacks on ships are permitted to force an end to the war in Gaza.
The Houthis say they want to support the Palestinians with this series of attacks. They have thus brought the war between Israel and Hamas to an international level. “The aggression against Gaza must stop. People there must be given food, water, medicine and fuel. These are humane demands,” said Mohammed al Houthi, a political leader of the Houthis, in an interview with NOS. “Once those demands are met, no more ships will be attacked. Not in the Red Sea, not in the Gulf of Aden, not in the Arabian Sea and not in the Bab el Mandeb Strait.”
With the continued attacks, the Houthis, formally known as Ansar Allah (“followers of God”), are hitting one of the world’s most important trade routes. They show the world that they can influence commercial shipping in the Red Sea with all the economic consequences that entails.
The attacks, carried out with drones and missiles, take place north of Bab el Mandeb. This is the narrow strait between Djibouti and Yemen that connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. The circumnavigation takes around ten days longer than the route through the Suez Canal and therefore costs more fuel. This makes the transport of containers a lot more expensive. About 12 percent of world trade normally chooses the route via the Suez Canal.
NOSThe Red Sea runs from the Suez Canal to Bab el Mandeb
“We don’t just attack ships, but any ship that has to do with Israel or sails to the occupied country for logistical reasons or to transport food is attacked. Any ship that has nothing to do with Israel can just go ahead and is not under attack,” said Al Houthi.
According to him, the ships they attack have a connection with Israel, but in practice this is not always possible to determine and the assumption is that every ship in the area could be a target. Like the Danish ship that was attacked. The Danish shipping group has now indicated that it will pause transit through the Red Sea for 48 hours.
In November, the Houthis hijacked the Galaxy Leader, partly owned by an Israeli businessman. Then came striking images out of helicopters that the Houthis had used for this purpose. Heavily armed men enter the wheelhouse, where they take control of the ship. Later, the Yemeni and Palestinian flags can be seen on the deck.
The Houthis then towed the ship to the coast near Hodeida where the Galaxy Leader is now a tourist attraction. In collaboration with correspondent Daisy Mohr, a local crew in Yemen filmed on the ship:
‘If the Gaza war does not stop, we will hijack more ships’
Although these actions by the Houthis are popular with their own population and gain them popularity in part of the Arab world, the attacks on free maritime movement are unacceptable to the US. The Americans would therefore consider bombing the Houthis’ launch facilities, but they are hesitant because military intervention could cause a serious regional escalation.
The Houthis have close ties to Iran and the US government is confident that Iran is supplying and training the Houthi rebels. Thanks to Iran, they have a large missile and drone arsenal, with which they can hit targets up to hundreds of kilometers away.
The British Foreign Minister, David Cameron, also makes the link between Iran and the Houthis and says he spoke with his counterpart from Iran on X. “I have made clear that Iran bears responsibility for preventing these attacks, given its long-standing support for the Houthis,” Cameron said.
In recent weeks, the Houthis have also fired missiles and drones towards Israel. Al Houthi: “We are constantly confronted with the arrogance of Israel and the US. The whole world is asking for this war to stop and while they keep talking about democracy and human rights, they continue with this war.”
‘The Netherlands, don’t participate’
The US is working on forming a coalition of countries that will use naval vessels to thwart attacks in the Red Sea and protect shipping under the name ‘Operation Prosperity Guardian’. The Netherlands is currently providing two staff officers to the mission.
Al Houthi has also heard about this: “As the number of warships increases in the Red Sea, they become easier prey for our armed forces, missiles, aircraft and gunboats. We ask the Netherlands not to participate.”
“If the Dutch want to secure international shipping and stop wars, they must put pressure on Israel to stop the aggression and siege of the 2.1 million people in Gaza,” Al Houthi said. “And if you want gasoline prices not to rise and international shipping to continue safely in the Red Sea, then don’t join that American coalition.”
Terror list
Trump put the Houthis on a US list of terrorist organizations at the end of his presidential term. That mention did not last long. President Biden removed the Houthis from the list a month later, in February 2021, after criticism from the UN and human rights organizations, among others. They objected because the mention would further complicate aid to citizens in the country. After the hijacking of the Galaxy Leader, the White House announced last month that it was reconsidering whether the Houthi movement should be considered a terrorist organization.
Read more about the Houthis in this article from two weeks ago.
2023-12-31 18:46:51
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