US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee defended the Trump Administration's decision to reach an agreement with the Houthi rebel group that did not include Israeli involvement or an agreement by the Houthis to stop attacking Israel, saying that the US did not need Israel's "permission" for such an agreement.
“The United States isn’t required to get permission from Israel to make some type of arrangement that would stop the Houthis from firing on our ships," Huckabee told Israel's Channel 12 News.
He added, “Here’s what I can tell you, because I had a conversation with both the president and the vice president last night ... There’s 700,000 Americans living in Israel. If the Houthis want to continue doing things to Israel and they hurt an American, then it becomes our business."
On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump announced the agreement that the Houthis and the US would cease their attacks on each other.
"The Houthis have announced they don't want to fight anymore. They just don't want to fight, and we will honor that, and we will stop the bombings. They have capitulated. But more importantly, we will take their word. They say they will not be blowing up ships anymore," Trump stated during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the White House.
It was later reported that Israel was not consulted on the ceasefire agreement between the US and the Houthis before Trump's announcement.
The head of the Houthi Supreme Political Council, Mahdi al-Mashat, declared that the rebel group would continue its attacks on Israel even after reaching a ceasefire agreement with the US to end its attacks on international shipping.
The Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah news station reported that al-Mashat warned Israelis to “remain in shelters because their government will not be able to protect them."