A Yemeni tribal leader accused Saudi Arabia and the UAE of introducing Israel to the island of Socotra in the Indian Ocean off the southern coast of the country, warning that the archipelago would leave Yemeni sovereignty.
In a statement issued yesterday, Tuesday, the sheikh of the tribes of the Yemeni province of Socotra Archipelago, Issa Salem bin Yaqut, accused Riyadh and Abu Dhabi of "destroying the enchanting and rare environmental landmarks on the island of Socotra and establishing camps without supervision amid a terrible international silence."
He said that Saudi Arabia and the UAE had brought Israel to Socotra as part of a process aimed at separating the island from Yemen, and accused the two countries of bringing about demographic changes and bringing in residents from outside Socotra.
The Sheikh of the Sheikhs of Socotra also warned of the archipelago’s departure from Yemeni sovereignty, and called on the Yemenis to support the archipelago’s sons and coordinate with them in the resistance march that they continue to wage.
It was not possible to obtain immediate comment from the parties mentioned in the statement regarding the island, which is controlled by the forces of the UAE-backed Yemeni Transitional Council.
For his part, the leader of the Yemeni General People's Congress, Yasser Al-Yamani, said in an interview with Al-Jazeera that the war on Yemen did not come from a vacuum, but rather its goal was to control the sea ports, and he explained that Abu Dhabi planned with Israel to control Socotra and other islands.
Last Friday, the US website SOUTH FRONT revealed the intention of the UAE and Israel to establish military and intelligence facilities on Socotra Island.
The website quoted Arab and French sources as saying that a delegation that included Emirati and Israeli officers recently visited the island and examined several sites with the aim of establishing intelligence facilities.
Emirati forces on Socotra Island (Al-Jazeera-Archive)
Since last June, forces affiliated with the Transitional Council have controlled Socotra Governorate after its invasion by force of arms, which was described by the Yemeni government at the time as a "coup against legitimacy."
The Yemeni government accuses the UAE (Saudi Arabia's second partner in the coalition) of supporting the Southern Transitional Council to serve its own goals in Yemen, which Abu Dhabi denies.
On August 13, Israel and the UAE announced an agreement mediated by the United States to normalize relations between them after years that witnessed a rapprochement between the two countries.
Yesterday morning, the Israeli delegation, which arrived Monday in Abu Dhabi, left for a preparatory visit to sign the final normalization agreement at the White House within weeks.