Bazaar: When Sayyid Abdul-Malik Badreddin al-Houthi vowed to target any Israeli presence in the so-called “Somaliland” (occupied Somali coast), this stance stemmed from Sana’a’s deep understanding of the dangers of this presence to the entire region and beyond Yemen’s borders.
Explaining this strategy, Sayyid Abdul-Malik explicitly declared:
“We will not wait for hesitant and normalizing regimes; rather, whenever the Israeli enemy establishes any presence in Somaliland, we will take the initiative and target it with all available means. We are closely monitoring the situation in Somaliland and the Israeli enemy’s attempts to turn it into a base.”
In this regard, Abdul-Wahid Abu Ras, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, had previously warned of the heavy price of any silence regarding these moves, confirming that the security of Yemen and the region is a red line.
Israel’s Strategic Objectives in the Gulf of Aden and Shortening the Distance to Yemen
The Zionist enemy’s attempt to establish a base in this region overlooking the Gulf of Aden puts Yemen at the forefront of its targets. Sana’a, through its missiles, drones, and ability to enforce a naval blockade in the Red Sea, has become an imminent threat to the Zionist regime. Knowing this deterrent power, Tel Aviv is trying to deploy in Somaliland to shorten the geographical distance of its conflict with Yemen on one hand, and to control maritime traffic at the southern gate of the Red Sea on the other, which poses a direct threat to Arab national security.
Expansionism in Arab Waters; Exploiting the Normalizers
Many mistakenly believe that the Israeli presence in Somaliland is merely a threat to Yemen; rather, this action tightens the siege around all Arab islands and ports along the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Arabian Sea, extending its reach to the Persian Gulf. Israel seeks to exploit the influence of its allies in Abu Dhabi and Bahrain, and the fear-induced silence of its other loyalists in the remaining Arab ports, coasts, and islands, to conduct intelligence operations and military expansion.
However, as long as Yemen stands as a powerful guardian at the southern gateway of the Red Sea, the realization of these illusions is impossible, and Sana’a will not allow the Zionist enemy to consolidate its influence.
Covert Diplomatic Channels and “Cirro’s” Visit to the Occupied Territories
Yemen is well aware of the enemy’s eagerness to establish relations with the separatist region of Somaliland. The climax of this process was the Zionist regime’s formal recognition of the region as a state in December 2025, which is a flagrant violation of the UN Charter. The excessive Zionist hospitality welcomed to the region’s leader, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, known as “Cirro”, during his visit to the occupied territories, speaks volumes about this alliance, although their relations existed through secret channels years before. This move was met with widespread international condemnation, including from Iran, which considered it a violation of Somalia’s sovereignty.
Threatening the Stability of the Horn of Africa and Redrawing the Geography of the Conflict
Since Somaliland is a separatist region and not recognized by the central government of Somalia, any Israeli presence there is considered an “intentional attack” on Somali sovereignty and could drag the country into conflicts that jeopardize the stability of the entire Horn of Africa, especially given the suspicious relations of this movement with Ethiopia, which cannot be excluded from these dynamics.
According to an analysis by the “Somali Guardian” website, the Israeli presence in Somaliland is not merely a military base on the map, but represents a redrawing of the geography of conflict in the region, endangering international navigation and turning the Horn of Africa into a new battlefield.
Political observers believe that Tel Aviv’s recognition of Somaliland in December 2025 is part of a broader strategy to break out of international isolation following the aggression on Gaza and an attempt to confront the “Axis of Resistance”—an agreement that has now hit the solid wall of the Yemeni military’s deterrence.
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