Israel set to lobby Europeans to blacklist Houthis

After Houthi rebels in Yemen fire at Israel for the third time in a week, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar instructs Israel’s diplomatic missions in the European Union and in the United Kingdom to push for the designation of the Houthi Ansar Allah movement as a terrorist organization, says his office.

While no European countries list the Houthis as a terrorist organization, the US, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Israel do.

“The Houthis pose a threat not only to Israel but to the region and the entire world,” says Sa’ar in a statement.

“The direct threat to freedom of navigation in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes is a challenge to the international community and the world order. The first and most basic thing is to define them as a terrorist organization.”