UN, US Request For Aid to Pour In Yemen as Houthi Support Truce

The Houti-controlled administration of Yemen accepted a 72-hour ceasefire beginning on Wednesday. The break in fighting is aimed to allow help to reach areas isolated by months of conflict. These places seriously require humanitarian aid.

A governing council comprised of the Iranian-aligned Houthi group and influential local allies insisted a Saudi-backed Arab coalition halt military attacks. They should also revoke restrictions on air, sea and land transport. It was the council’s first statement on the truce.

A cessation of hostilities between the warring factions will start at 2359 local time (2059 GMT) on Wednesday, the United Nations said on Monday. The truce raises hopes of an end to a conflict that has killed thousands of civilians and left people starving.

The council made know its “positive engagement” with the ceasefire plan. It added that Yemen needed an immediate, comprehensive, and lasting truce without preconditions. This includes what it called an end to the blockade of the Yemeni people.

During the ceasefire, aid agencies may attempt to get to families trapped in villages and towns. The areas where fighting and coalition-enforced travel restrictions left residents short of food and in critical need of medical supplies.

“Hopefully, this nationwide cessation will provide humanitarian agencies and organizations the opportunity to respond in areas that have been cut off or hard to reach in all of Yemen,” UN’s Yemen Humanitarian Coordinator Jamie McGoldrick said.

All combatants to cease hostilities and military movement

US Secretary of State John Kerry said in Washington that the ceasefire necessitates all parties to stop military activities. They should also help expedite the distribution of humanitarian assistance.

Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies have implemented air strikes and positioned troops in Yemen in backing the exiled government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. The Houthi’s toppled Hadi’s administration in 2015.

The 19-month long war has worsened Yemen’s already critical humanitarian needs by raising levels of malnutrition and enlistment of child soldiers. Furthermore, the fighting inflicted damage on schools and infrastructure.

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Growing Evidence Points to Houthi Role in Attack On US Destroyer

Despite denials of accountability in Sunday’s missile attack on a Navy Destroyer off the Yemen coast, United States officials said that there are increasing signs that Iran-allied Houthi rebels are responsible.

The US officials are not allowed to speak publicly due to the ongoing investigation. They said that the rebels seemed to use small skiffs as spotters. These tiny vessels help lead a missile attack on the USS Mason.

The US is also investigating the likelihood that a Houthi radar station in Yemen may have also “painted” the warship.

The incident threatens to provoke the first US military action against Houti’s in Yemen’s conflict. However, neither of the two missiles launched from Houthi-controlled territory on Sunday hit the USS Mason.

Possible retaliatory strike

The Houthis have publicly denied any part in the strike. But details of Sunday’s incident that are coming out would provide added support to the Pentagon’s contentions that the facts point to Houthi involvement. The US military even implied on Tuesday at possible arrangements for a retaliatory strike.

The Pentagon declared, anybody who takes action against US Navy vessels in international waters do so at their own peril.

The US military has acknowledged that only the first of the two missiles came close enough to activate the USS Mason’s defenses. But it is still unclear if those defenses were needed to prevent a direct hit or whether they caused the missile to splash down early. It was also not known whether the missile would have fallen short anyway.

The second missile was fired an hour later. The USS Mason did not consider it necessary to use its defenses since the missile was far enough away from the warship.

The Houthis had previously avoided targeting US military ships.

The Zaydi fighters drove the Saudi Arabia-supported Yemen President Abd Rabbu Mansour al-Hadi from the capital in 2014. They are allied to Hadi’s predecessor Ali Abdullah Saleh and have the support of several army units. They control most of North Yemen including its capital, Sanaa.

The conflict in Yemen killed more than 10,000 people so far. It also brought parts of the country to the verge of starvation.

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Rebel-Held Yemen Fires Missiles On US Navy Ship

A failed missile attack from Iran-aligned Houthi rebel territory in Yemen targeted a US Navy guided missile destroyer, a US military spokesman said. Neither of the two missiles struck the ship.

It was the second such launch targeting ships after a United Arab Emirates vessel came under attack from Houthis a week earlier.

The botched missile attack on the USS Mason started about 7 pm local time, the US military said. That time, the ship spotted two incoming missiles in the Red Sea off Yemen’s coast over a 60-minute time frame.

Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said there were no damage to the ship and injuries to the sailors as both missiles hit the water before reaching the ship.

The United States and Saudi Arabia accuse Iran for providing weapons to the Houthis. Tehran denies it equips them with weapons but sees the Houthis as the rightful authority in Yemen.

Missile alley

A US defense official said the first missile triggered counter measures from the USS mason but the ship did not return fire. He added that the incident happened just north of the Bab al-Mandab strait off Yemen’s southern coast, the same general area where last weeks attack on a UAE vessel took place.

Davis emphasized a duty to preserve freedom of navigation and safeguard US forces. However it was uncertain what actions the US military might take.

He said that the US will continue to take all necessary steps to ensure that its ships and service members are safe.

The attack also came the same day that Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen’s powerful former president and key Houthi ally, summoned for an increase of attacks against Saudi Arabia.

A projected 10,000 people have died in Yemen’s war. The United Nations holds the Saudi-led coalition accountable for 60 percent of close to 3,800 civilian deaths since they began attacks in March.

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Israel Wary of Obama’s Parting Present to Palestinians with Barely Three Months Left in Office

Washington threatened to re-evaluate U.S. policy to veto the U.N. Security Council resolution on Israel’s presence in the West Bank during the election for Israel’s Prime Minister last year. The threat stemmed from an interview of PM Benjamin Netenyahu who is seeking re-election. He said that there would be no Palestinian state as long as he is the Prime Minister. Natenyahu withdrew his statement after the elections when he was votes as Prime Minister. White House urged legislators nonetheless to make up options on how Obama could “preserve the two-state solution.”

The White House threat as of now has not yet materialized. Furthermore, the U.S. and Israel signed an agreement last month extending the U.S. subsidy of Israeli military. The agreed subsidy was for another 10 years. With the U.S. Focus on the Syrian conflict and the humanitarian emergency in Aleppo, as well as the current U.S. Presidential elections coming to a close, it seems that the Obama administration has its hands full.

Israel’s friends in Washington are privately worried with Obama’s intention to have an equal opportunity approach between Palestinians and Israelis before his term expires. Israel’s fear of a possible step by Obama may very well be plausible. 88 senators signed a letter to Obama asking him to re-evaluate the “long-standing U.S. policy” to veto anti-Israel resolutions at the U.N.

The White House has not released any statement with regard to the petition. The White House on the other hand has “strongly condemned” Israel for approving 98 new housing settlements in the West Bank. The U.S. has always opposed the construction of settlements in the West Bank from the beginning of the occupation. Israel had taken control of the land after the Six Day War in 1967. The U.S has not sanctioned Israel on the current settlement issue as of this time.

The Obama administration has several options it could take that can threaten Israeli occupation in the West Bank. Any policy that would be presented that could undermine Israel’s hold in the region would meet strong opposition. Obama has however faced similar opposition from Israel and its friends in Washington. The Iran nuclear deal had run through stiff opposition. The White house however, managed to put the bargain through Congress with just enough democratic support.

Time Running Out?

Obama would face a different scenario now as he only has three months before his term expires. The nuclear deal was pushed through as he had more than a year left in office. With Obama’s time in office running short, it remains to be seen how the democrats would react if he takes action against Israel’s settlement activity.

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