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On April 1, 2024, Yemen's Ansar Allah Movement (Houthis) launched the second conference dedicated to "Palestine, the Central Cause of the [Islamic] Nation" in the capital, Sanaa. The international event held under the slogan, "You Are Not Alone," and was attended by local representatives, alongside representatives from the Arab and Islamic world, as well as by international representatives, such as British politician George Galloway and Russian philosopher Aleksandr Dugin, who delivered televised speeches.[1]
On March 30, Houthi-affiliated media outlets reported that the Supreme Oversight Committee of the second "Palestine, the Central Cause of the Nation" conference convened under the auspices of Houthi caretaker, Prime Minister Dr. Abdulaziz Saleh Bin Habtoor, who had approved the final arrangements for the conference.[2]
The organizers explained that the four-day conference would discuss the Quranic vision of the Palestinian cause, and would clarify the jihad of the people of Yemen in Palestine throughout history, Israeli ambitions in Yemen, the nature of the conflict with Israel, the importance of economic boycott, and Yemen's political, military, and popular role in supporting the Palestinian cause, especially after October 7, 2023.
According to the conference agenda, the event aims to detail Israel's oppression of the Palestinian people, and the means and methods it uses to deepen it, and to reveal the nature of the British and American role in "implanting the Zionist enemy entity."
Below is a summary of selected speakers' remarks, and photos of attendees:
Supreme Political Council Member Rejects A Two-State Solution: "A Palestinian State On The Entire Palestinian Territory"
In his speech at the opening ceremony, a member of the Houthi Supreme Political Council, Muhammad Ali Al-Houthi, said that Palestine represents a free people, and supporting it indicates the strength and determination of those who move to support it in the face of global tyranny and colonial powers.
"Standing with Palestine is a humanitarian and ethical position, and a stance for justice, for freedom, and for victory for the oppressed," he said, noting that for the voices of the world to come together and say in one voice "no to American hegemony," before saying no to Israeli hegemony. This is an achievement in itself, and a refusal to accept the "passing of the tyrannical American and Israeli projects."
"This is a great achievement for a [Islamic] nation that has surrendered, regimes that normalized, regimes that confiscated the nation's resources and worked to seize all its capabilities in order for them to safeguard their positions and government structures and prolong the oppression of their peoples."
Discrediting Arab governments that had normalized relations with Israel, Al-Houthi argued that the submissiveness of Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and other Gulf states is evidence they sold out the Palestinian cause and "a blatant dependence on the Americans and Israelis."
He claimed that Yemen walked a different path, reaffirming the centrality of the Palestinian cause and Yemen's permanent support for the heroic Palestinian people, with their various forces and factions, to liberate the land and the holy sites, expel the occupier, and establish a Palestinian state on the entirety of Palestinian territory, adding: "We will never accept a two-state" solution.
Additionally, Al-Houthi rejected Arab regimes' submission to the "genocidal activities taking place in Gaza," as well as all "suspicious" calls for normalization with Israel, which, he argued, aim to liquidate the Palestinian cause.
Houthi Supreme Political Council, Muhammad Ali Al-Houthi (Middle).
Houthi Prime Minister: Normalizers With Israel Earned Disgrace
For his part, Prime Minister Dr Bin Habtoor affirmed that this second conference represents a blessed day in the process of supporting the Palestinian cause, and comes within the framework of advocating for the truth in order to awaken the Arab and Islamic nation from the state of slumber, silence, and betrayal.
He praised the position of the people of Yemen, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Iran who chose to resist in the face of "Zionist projects" with the aim of thwarting them, and disparaged the inconsiderate, normalizing Arab regimes for earning the "most disgraceful moments in their history."
"The official Arab system is doomed to failure, while the heroic resistance chose struggle, patience, and martyrdom as the right path that would achieve the Palestinian people's freedom and independence."
Dr. Bin Habtoor also praised the position of the Houthi-aligned armed forces, saying that the army's position is the first of its kind in the history of the Arab Israeli conflict "which not only confronted the Zionist enemy, but today it confronts at sea its main supporters, America and Britain, and destroys their ships and battleships in this way that the world is watching."
Prime Minister Dr Abdulaziz Saleh Bin Habtoor (middle).
Mufti Of Yemen Urges Revival Of The Duty Of Jihad
In his speech before the attendees, the Mufti of Yemen Shamsuddin Sharafuddin argued that the Muslim scholars' silence about the sacred duty of jihad and support of Palestinians is considered a betrayal of Allah and His Messenger, noting that several Arab regimes discourage people, and distract them from the issues of the nation in general, by holding entertainment events and competitions, while they watch the massacres committed against Palestinians in Gaza.
He stressed that standing by their brethren in Palestine stems from the human, religious, and moral duty, noting that the Islamic nation has abandoned jihad at a time "America is covering up the crimes of the Zionist enemy entity by continuing its support and urging it to kill more people of Gaza and Palestine without the world moving."
Hamas's Moaz Abu-Shamalah: Yemenis Have The Characteristics Of Future "Conquerors Of Jerusalem"
In turn, Hamas's representative in Sanaa, Moaz Abu Shamalah, affirmed that Palestine will remain the nation's central cause and its living conscience, noting that Palestine will continue to resist until liberation is achieved, with the return of refugees and the establishment of an independent state with the blessed Al-Quds (Jerusalem) as its capital.
Abu Shamalah praised the position of the Yemeni people, leadership, and government, stressing that Yemen, through its action and honorable position, has today become a partner of the resistance in Palestine: "Yemen is a land and people of faith and support. They are endowed with strength and great might, which is one of the characteristics of the conquerors of Al-Aqsa and Jerusalem, Allah willing, again."
He touched on the suffering of the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank, and condemned the international complicity and Arab failure, stressing that the "Al-Aqsa Flood" is a "unique and decisive battle in the history of the conflict with the Zionist enemy."
He further denounced Arab inaction in the face of the "American-Zionist aggression and systematic siege and starvation" against the Palestinians in Gaza, and praised supporters such as South Africa and Yemen.
"The position of the people of Yemen will remain engraved in the Palestinian memory and in the heart and mind of every Arab Muslim. The position of the Republic of Yemen will remain a beacon that illuminates all free people of the world to counter injustice and American tyranny."
Hamas's representative in Sanaa, Moaz Abu Shamalah.
Lebanese Hizbullah Representative Urged Resistance Of U.S., Israel, Europe's Alliance Of "Global Hegemony And Arrogance"
For his part, Abdullah Kassir, the assistant chairman of Hizbullah's Executive Council, highlighted the timing of the conference in conjunction with the commemoration of International Quds Day, to remind the world of the Palestinian cause and the "viciousness of the Zionist crimes committed against the Palestinian people." Whoever stands against the just cause, "stands with the forces of global hegemony and arrogance, America, the Zionist enemy, and Europe."
Kassir called on everyone to boycott Israeli and American goods and products as a weapon and a position and to "work to activate the jihadist, military, political and cultural fronts."
"Just as it [Israel] is unable to break the resolve of the resistance factions, we are able to defeat the enemy and inflict on it an absolute defeat."
Galloway, Dugin, Daughter Of Guevara, Grandsons Of Mandela And Gandhi Delivered Televised Speeches
The first day of the conference was marked by televised speeches delivered by British politician and parliamentarian George Galloway; by Aleksandr Dugin, a Russian philosopher and advisor to Russian President Vladimir Putin, by South African parliamentarian Zulivlele Mandela, the grandson of late South African leader Nelson Mandela, and by Indian writer and political activist Tushar Gandhi, grandson of the spiritual leader of India, Mahatma Gandhi. Representing Cuba was Elida Guevara, daughter of Che Guevara. In their remarks, the participants shed light on the suffering of the Palestinians and called for unifying the ranks of the free people of the world to "stand with the Palestinian people to obtain their legitimate right to establish their independent state with Holy Jerusalem as its capital."
British politician and parliamentarian George Galloway.
Alexander Dugin, Russian philosopher and advisor to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Cuban activist Elida Guevara, daughter of Che Guevara.
South African MP Zulivlele Mandela, the grandson of late South African leader Nelson Mandela.
