Without a ceasefire deal, Houthi attacks will increase - intelligence report

• Published date: 25 March 2024
• Author: YONAH JEREMY BOB
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

The intelligence center is known to be close to the Israeli intelligence establishment, given that its members are all former members of the intelligence community, but it mostly utilizes open-source intelligence for its analyses

According to the center, there is a wide mix of agendas regarding the Houthis' provocative activities.

Even between the US and its Western and Sunni allies, the report said there are differences about how to handle the Houthis and how far to escalate counterattacks on Yemen's soil versus merely shooting down Houthi attacks.Then there are differences between Iran and the Houthis, with sources telling The Jerusalem Post that sometimes the Yemen terror group has gone beyond its sponsor's orders.

Houthis are going beyond Iran

Some sources have told the Post that Tehran has even ordered the Houthis to tone down certain attacks that could unify the West and the Sunni countries, only to be ignored by its proxy, which retains some independence.

This came after reports of negotiations between the US and Iran to reduce tensions relating to Yemen even if other sources of tension may remain open.

Despite these sources, the intelligence center report said that either the Islamic Republic or an Israel-Hamas ceasefire were the main ways that the West could reduce conflict with the Houthis, given the West's disinclination to engage deep into Yemen soil and the West's failure to deter the Houthis to date.

According to the report, Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi has publicly repeated numerous times in February and March that only the halting of attacks on Gaza can halt his forces' attacks.

Moreover, the report said that Houthis spokesman Yahya Sare'e has recently echoed similar messages.

In addition, the report noted the Houthis' articulation of a worldview in which they unite with Iran, Russia, and China in a long-term struggle.

The report noted that continuing through the first three months of 2024, the Houthis have continued, almost uninterrupted, to attack targets they define as being "Israeli," "Israel-linked," or "supporters of Israel" (mostly the US and EU countries) traveling through the Red Sea.

Further, the Houthis more recently have threatened to start...