Yemen and Eritrea have clashed in the past, and continue to experience friction over sovereignty issues in the Red Sea, dividing the Arabian peninsula from Africa. In 1995, 12 people died when Eritrean troops took control of certain disputed Red Sea islands. However, according to the Yemeni foreign minister, Abu Bakr al-Qurabi, such clashes are merely the traces of ?Israeli fingers? in the region. The Yemeni minister?s statements were reported last week in the Saudi Arabian daily al-Watan.
Al-Qurabi claimed that Israel's aim is to control the Red Sea, just as it seeks to control the Arab "homeland as a whole." Just as he told the Lebanese daily al-Mustaqbal in the past (?the Israeli attempts to control the Red Sea are not new...?), al-Qurabi explained that Israeli fears that the Red Sea will become ?an Arab lake? prompts the Jewish state to manipulate and exploit conflicts between the states on the sea. ?This is a well-known Israeli strategy,? al-Watan quoted. Yemen, the foreign minister stressed, takes care not to allow Israel to succeed in its attempts, reported al-Watan.
Al-Qurabi claimed that Israel's aim is to control the Red Sea, just as it seeks to control the Arab "homeland as a whole." Just as he told the Lebanese daily al-Mustaqbal in the past (?the Israeli attempts to control the Red Sea are not new...?), al-Qurabi explained that Israeli fears that the Red Sea will become ?an Arab lake? prompts the Jewish state to manipulate and exploit conflicts between the states on the sea. ?This is a well-known Israeli strategy,? al-Watan quoted. Yemen, the foreign minister stressed, takes care not to allow Israel to succeed in its attempts, reported al-Watan.