The acting foreign minister of Yemen’s Houthi government, Abdulwahid Abu Ras, announced on Friday that 43 detained local United Nations staff will face trial on suspicion of involvement in an Israeli airstrike that killed senior Houthi leaders in August, Reuters reported.
The strike, which targeted the capital Sanaa, eliminated the prime minister of the Iran-backed Houthi-run government along with several ministers. It marked the first Israeli operation to kill top officials in Yemen.
Abu Ras told Reuters that “the steps taken by the security agencies were carried out under full judicial supervision. The public prosecution was kept informed step by step with every action taken.”
He added, “Therefore, as long as the prosecution is informed, it is certain that this process is moving toward its conclusion, leading to trials and the issuance of judicial rulings”.
He further claimed that a cell within the World Food Programme was “clearly involved in directly targeting the government.” There was no immediate response from the WFP. The United Nations has repeatedly rejected accusations that its staff were involved in espionage or operational support for the strike.
According to the UN, at least 59 of its personnel are currently being held by Houthi authorities. The organization has condemned what it describes as arbitrary detentions and has called for the immediate release of all detainees.
The defendants are Yemeni nationals and, under Yemeni law, could face the death penalty if convicted.
This past Sunday, the Houthis announced that three of the detained UN employees had been charged with espionage on behalf of Israel.
Last week, the Houthi rebels released 12 international United Nations staff members and allowed three others to move freely within the UN compound in Sanaa, days after detaining them during a raid on the facility in Yemen’s capital.
The UN has warned that the Houthis’ actions are making it “increasingly difficult” to deliver humanitarian aid. Haq noted last week that the organization is now reassessing its operations in Houthi-held territory.
(Arutz Sheva-Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)