UK-based Arabic-language outlet Asharq Al-Awsat on Sunday reported that Yemen’s Houthis carried out arrests in the provinces of Saada, Sanaa and Hodeidah over fears of "Israeli infiltration” into their ranks. According to the report, the Houthis are concerned that the terror organization’s senior leaders could be targeted as Hezbollah leaders were in Lebanon.
The report noted that the arrests came only days after the Houthis claimed to have uncovered a spy network in Yemen allegedly led by international intelligence agencies including the CIA and Mossad.
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Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
(Photo: Social Media/via REUTERS, Alex Kolomoisky)
"The enemy tasked the spies with conducting intelligence operations, including surveillance and pinpointing the locations of missiles, drones, naval forces and other military sites," according to the Houthis. They also alleged the "spies" were instructed to track and locate military, political and security leaders, as well as prominent social figures.
Sources told the outlet that the Houthis are in a state of panic due to the collapse of the Iranian axis and that the arrests are meant to "spread terror" in Yemen to suppress opposition activity and prevent the possibility of a coup, similar to events in Syria with the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime. According to these sources, the Houthis are using "Israeli threats" as a pretext to detain civilians.
The arrests come amid threats against the Houthis by Defense Minister Israel Katz following his statement last week. "We will strike the strategic infrastructure of the Houthi terror organization and eliminate its leaders — just as we did to [Ismail] Haniyeh, [Yahya] Sinwar and [Hassan] Nasrallah — in Tehran, Gaza and Lebanon. We'll do the same in Hodeidah and Sanaa," Katz said at the time.
Israeli strike in Sanaa, Yemen
One example of the Houthis’ concerns can be seen in a post by senior Houthi figure Hazam al-Assad, who shared images of the terror organization’s senior members featured in the report, saying: "They’re the ones who should be worried and afraid. We will not stop supporting our people in Gaza."
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The arrests align with the routine detentions the Houthis carry out against their opponents in the country. Reports indicated the Houthis also operate clandestine prisons where they incarcerate dissenters.