Abu Dhabi was the target of another Houthi missile attack while hosting Israel president.
Abu Dhabi announced today that it has downed a ballistic missile potentially launched by Houthi forces in Yemen. The third attack against UAE occurred while it welcomes Israel President at the Dubai Expo for the first time.
The Houthi military spokesperson confirmed striking the missile at Emirati capital. At the same time, drones attempted to target the business capital Dubai in raids that are the third in a row in less than 14 days.
Inhabitants in the UAE should avoid important centers and infrastructure, according to the Houthi official. The country touts itself on being a stable commercial hub and a worldwide popular destination, and it now hosts the world’s largest fair.
The attack, which occurs at the heels of another one which claimed three lives, received backlash by western allies. The recent aggression between the Houthi movement and Saudi alliance, including UAE as a member state, escalated the Yemen conflict. Sana’a new strategy was to take the offensives within Saudi Arabia and the UAE soils in recent months.
The strikes, according to a top Abu Dhabi source, were totally worthless provocations that will be confronted with in order to protect “national security and sovereignty”. Anwar Gargash stressed in a tweet that “those who test the UAE are mistaken.”
The attacks have caused remarkable security concerns among some locals in a country where expats make up the majority of the population. Despite this, there has been no discernible effect on ordinary routines, with cafes and resorts busy during the warm wintertime.
The attack happened while Israel president was in the capital, in which he met with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince. Ironically enough, Isaac Herzog and Mohammed bin Zayed talked about security ties between the two countries.
Israel President in Abu Dhabi; A Meeting on Fire
The Houthi forces launched the missile few minutes past midnight early on Monday. Following its interception minutes later, its fragments crashed in an empty region. It was unclear if the missile intended the capital or Dubai until the Houthi movement named Abu Dhabi as the target.
The United States, another member of the Saudi-led coalition against Yemen, condemned the attack. “While Israel president is visiting the UAE to build bridges and promote stability across the region, the Houthis continue to launch attacks that threaten civilians,” State Department spokesperson asserted in a post on Twitter.
Ned Price’s claim about the outcome of normalization with Israel, formally known as the Abraham accords, has advocates and opponents. The former group believe that the agreements will facilitate an all-out resolution to the regional challenges rooting in Israel.
The opponents, on the other hand, believe that the problem shall not be part of the solution. They emphasize that Israel, occupation, and Palestine are issues that need to be addressed inside the Palestinian lands.
There is also a third group which believes the normalization agreement puts the Arab world security at stake. They use the UAE and Iraq election dispute as an example in which Israel’s footstep tuned to a security challenge.
Last year, Israel took part in a naval exercise along with UAE, Bahrain, and American troops. State arms manufacturers in the UAE and Israel have agreed to collaborate on the development of a sophisticated drone defense system and driverless naval boats.
Weird or not, a great part of the Israeli focus in partnership with UAE is on security spheres. The Houthi movement might be attempting to display the bugs of such a cooperation while Israel president is in UAE.
