What makes the Houthi rebels so dangerous

The once flip-flop-wearing holy warriors of the Huthi rebels are now a powerful army. From Yemen, they regularly fire missiles at their declared mortal enemy Israel. With the hijacking of a freighter, the militia is now playing its greatest trump card.

It only takes a few days for the Houthi rebels to make good on their threat - captured on video to great public effect: The freighter "Galaxy Leader" is on its way from Turkey to India when a helicopter approaches in the Bab al-Mandeb strait. It lands on the upper deck and a group of masked men jump out with machine guns at the ready. The men storm the bridge and the crew has no choice but to surrender. 25 people become hostages of an Islamist militia that wants to make a name for itself in the war against Israel.

The action on Sunday was announced. Last week, rebel leader Abdel Malek al-Huthi declared on his own TV station that he would "target" Israeli ships in the Red Sea. Following the hijacking of the "Galaxy Leader", Israel denied that it was an Israeli ship. No Israeli citizens were among the crew either. According to the maritime security company Ambrey, the only connection is through the Israeli entrepreneur Abraham Ungar, who owns the ship operator's parent company.

Nevertheless, the Houthis are putting pressure on the global economy with the hijacking. Squeezed between Yemen and East Africa, Bab al-Mandeb connects the Red Sea with the Indian Ocean and is the gateway to the Suez Canal. The route is essential for maritime trade, with ten percent of the world's oil production being shipped through the strait. In their self-declared fight against Israel, the rebels are now playing their geographical trump card.

Rocket fire from far away

Jerusalem and the Yemeni capital Sanaa are separated by around 2000 kilometers as the crow flies, with the desert states of Saudi Arabia and Jordan in between. This has not stopped the Houthis from regularly firing rockets and drones towards Israel since the beginning of the Gaza war. Their range is indeed remarkable. According to calculations by the Economist, some of these missiles travel at least 1600 kilometers. The newspaper speaks of the longest-range ballistic missiles ever fired in an act of aggression.

However, the danger for Israel has so far been limited. Many missiles are intercepted by the Arrow defense system, others do not even reach the country. The target is usually the southern Israeli coastal town of Eilat, where many Israelis from the border region of the Gaza Strip have found refuge. There have been repeated air raids there. In the middle of the month, a drone hit a house and caused minor damage. It probably came from Yemen.

Iran is the main supporter of the rebel group, even though Tehran denies supplying weapons. Thanks to the mullahs, the Houthis have massively rearmed in recent years and the militia is said to comprise 180,000 to 200,000 men. According to the Dutch investigative portal"Oryx", their weapons portfolio ranges from ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones to anti-ship missiles. "The fighters with flip-flops and tribal costumes have become a formidable force," says Farea al-Muslimi from the London-based research institute Chatham House in an interview with Swiss Radio and Television (SRF).

The Houthis originate from the Yemeni highlands and their members belong to a branch of Shia Islam. The so-called Zaidis ruled over northern Yemen until the 1960s, after which they were ostracized by the Sunni majority. The movement became radicalized in the wake of the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, adding an anti-Western agenda to their rigorous interpretation of Islam, which put them in opposition to the then US-friendly government in Sanaa. Their hatred of Israel also stems from this rejection of the West. In the Houthis' world view, the Jewish state is a Western colonial product on Arab soil.

The Houthis manifest their ideology in their battle cry: "God is great, death to America, death to Israel, curse the Jews, victory to Islam." Like Hezbollah in Lebanon or the Assad regime in Syria, they are considered part of the "Axis of Resistance", an alliance of Arab movements under the aegis of Iran. The militia's involvement in the war in Israel and Gaza is therefore part of its doctrine.

The rebels seized power in Yemen at the beginning of 2015, when Houthi fighters stormed the presidential palace in Sanaa, drove out the government and took control of the north of the country. In the same year, a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia intervened in the conflict. However, despite massive attacks, Riyadh has still not been able to break the power of the Houthis. Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation in the country is catastrophic: hundreds of thousands have died and millions are suffering from hunger.

Attacks could continue

Against this backdrop, the Houthis' involvement in the Gaza war also has tactical reasons. Recently, the prospects for a peace agreement in Yemen have never been better. In the event of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the Houthis would sell this as their own success, says expert al-Muslimi to SRF. They could then return to the negotiating table with a stronger position.

However, as long as the Gaza war continues, the Houthis will continue to fire on Israel, the expert believes. According to him, the attacks primarily have a signal effect. The situation is different in the Bab al-Mandeb strait: "The rebels from the mountains are now strong enough to torpedo global maritime trade," says Al-Muslimi.

The captured "Galaxy Leader" is currently anchored in the port of the Yemeni city of al-Hudaida. It is not known how the crew is faring. According to the operating company "Galaxy Maritime", communication has been completely cut off. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Houthi rebels declared all Israeli ships to be "legitimate targets" and threatened: "This is just the beginning."

Source: www.ntv.de