Israel lobbying US on behalf of UAE to re-blacklist Yemen's Ansarullah

At the United Arab Emirates’ behest, Israel has reportedly been lobbying the administration of US President Joe Biden to designate Yemen's popular Anasarullah movement as a "terrorist group.”

Former US president Donald Trump added Anasarullah to the State Department’s list of foreign terrorist organizations during his final days in office, but his successor, Biden, reversed the decision.

Last year, the US Department of State reversed a last-minute decision by the ex-administration, which put the Houthis on the US list of “foreign terrorist groups” and subjected them to sanctions.

Following the escalation in Yemen’s counterattacks against the UAE last month, Biden said a re-designation of Ansarullah was “under consideration.”

On Tuesday, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel that Abu Dhabi has stepped up its lobbying for the blacklisting of the Yemeni group and enlisted Tel Aviv in the effort.

Israel has told American officials that re-imposing the designation would curb Iran’s regional influence, the official added. “We’re not doing this only for the Emiratis. We believe such a step is in everyone’s interest.”

Additionally, an Israeli source familiar with the matter said that the US National Security Council has warmed to the idea of re-designating Ansarullah, while others in the Biden administration remain more hesitant.

Democratic Congressman Gregory Meeks, who heads the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he was looking "very carefully" at the re-designation issue and was in conversation with other officials.

However, many rights groups have warned that such a move could jeopardize humanitarian work in Yemen and endanger the population. 

US designation of Ansarullah could worsen Yemen humanitarian situation, say aid groups

Aid agencies warn that the possible US designation of Yemen

Saudi Arabia launched a devastating war on its southern neighbor in March 2015 in collaboration with a number of its allied states and with arms and logistics support from the US and several Western countries.

The aim was to return to power the former Riyadh-backed regime and crush the popular Ansarullah movement which has been running state affairs in the absence of an effective government in Yemen.

The war has stopped well shy of all of its goals, despite killing tens of thousands of Yemenis and turning entire Yemen into the scene of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

The Yemeni army and its allied fighters from the Popular Committees have in recent months gone from strength to strength against the Saudi-led invaders and left Riyadh and its allies bogged down in Yemen.

In January, the Yemeni forces launched three rounds of retaliatory missile and drone strikes deep inside Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

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