What evidence of Palestinian Islamic Jihad support for the Houthis?
Over the recent period, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad faction’s support for the Iranian-backed Houthi group has been on the rise in Yemen.
Islamic Jihad’s support for the Houthis dates back to 2014 when the leader of the Houthi rebel movement, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, met in Saada with the representative of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Yemen, Ahmed Abdul-Rahman Baraka, and the two discussed prospects for joint action.
The Jihad representative also visited the tomb of Houthi founder Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi during his visit to Maran in Saada and the meeting between Al-Houthi and Baraka was held under Iranian auspices.
At the beginning of 2022, the movement organized a demonstration in Gaza in support of the Houthis and roamed the streets of central Gaza City, claiming that it was in solidarity with the Yemenis, while accompanying it was holding up pictures of Houthi militia symbols.
The movement raised pictures of Houthi militia leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi and former commander of the Quds Force militia of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Qassem Soleimani, along with pictures of Hezbollah militia secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah, in a letter of support for the Houthi militia, from Gaza.
Among the Palestinian factions that participated in the march, along with the Islamic Jihad movement, are the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Mujahideen Brigades, all forces close to and funded by Iran.
Observers said the march was an attempt to please the factions, with participants holding up pictures of Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, Hassan Nasrallah, Secretary-General of Hezbollah, and Gen. Qassem Soleimani, former commander of the Quds Force in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, who was killed in a US raid.
Observers added that the demonstration also comes in light of the movement’s commitment to implementing a specific agenda to obtain funds from Qatar and Iran.
They continued: “The demonstration of Jihad Movement in support of Houthis in Gaza is a declaration of complete subordination to Iran, as never happened in the days of (former secretary general of the movement) Ramadan Shallah; The funding was entirely from Iran in his day as well, but he didn’t look away from his incubator, which he could do”.
