Is there any Israeli connection in the still unsolved MV FAINA piracy crisis off the Somali coast at Hobyo? Are there further scenarios to use the ongoing humanitarian, environmental, political and military crisis in order to trigger spectacular developments in the Horn of Africa area? Is this crisis machinated in order to bring the total end of Somalia´s existence as a national, unitary state?

An Anti-Israeli fever has been noticed these last days in Yemen, the foreign country with the longest and strongest involvement, interest and commitment in Somalia. The Yemenite allegations may be to some extent relevant to traditional ´fear´ of Israel, but there are some undeniable facts.

In an insightful background of the MV FAINA piracy crisis, Ecoterra states the following:

"Nyna Karpachyova, the Ukrainian parliament's human rights ombudsman, said that the real owner of the weapon-ship is an Israeli citizen with the name Vadim Alperin (alias Vadim Oltrena). It is extremely rare for ships to be registered to individual investors such as Mr Alperin. Vadim Alperin was further investigated to have acquired this ship from a Russian state auction during the era of Boris Yeltsin. The ship was refurbished and later conveniently registered to fly the Belize flag. Other ships by the same owner where found to be operating as casinos including one based in the Gulf to entertain rich Arab clients. Vadim Alperin was once quoted to be a "Mossad brother" running a number of clandestine front companies including one Kenyan Meat export company enjoying "good trade" with middle eastern countries, but covertly used for gathering intelligence from countries such as Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia".

(http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/78934 and

http://en.rian.ru/world/20081001/117372437.html).

In another analysis, Ecoterra quotes the Yemenite president Ali Abdallah Saleh stating that a terrorist cell has been caught to have telephone links with the office of a former Israeli premier. More specifically:

"The foreign existence in the Red Sea will make nothing" president Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen said, "German, U.S. Dutch and French warships have been there and could not prevent pirates" he added. If the international community does not work on rebuilding Somalia, it will remain the one of the worst spots in the Horn of Africa. He highlighted that the direct reason of the piracy phenomenon is disintegration of the Somali State, calling on the international institutions to contribute to restructuring Somali institutions. President Saleh during the conference revealed also that the arrested terrorist cell proved to be linked to Israeli intelligence and in contact with the former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office (http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/78939).

In today´s Yemen Times (issue 1201, vol. 16, 23 – 26 October 2008) an article signed by Najeeb Al-Ghurbani renders in English the contents of an earlier article published in the Yemenite Arabic daily Al Tagheer (´the Change´). Although the title seems to apply to the present crisis (´Israeli strategy to occupy Bab Al-Mandab Strait´), the contents are of rather historical interest and cover mostly the period 1945 – 1975. This can be an effort to offer a historical background to the alleged present interest of Israel in the area for which we will have to expect further publications in the Yemenite media.

I republish the article integrally as it bears witness to the importance that Yemen attributes to the developments unfolding around the Hobyo scenery and the MV FAINA piracy.

Israeli strategy to occupy Bab Al-Mandab Strait

Najeeb Al-Ghurbani

http://yementimes.com/article.shtml?i=1201&p=opinion&a=3

The first President of the Zionist government David Goryon expressed his state´s aspirations to control the Red Sea in 1949. He rather said, "We are besieged from land frontiers while sea is the only passage to the outside world and the only means for establishing communication with other continents".

The Zionist President indicated that development of Éylat will be a primary objective, which our efforts are progressing toward achieving it. The Arab states overlooking the Red Sea felt they are at risk, which is the main reason why Egypt cooperated with Saudi Arabia in 1950 for the sake of granting numerous islands of strategic significance to the former in order to control entrance to Al-Aqaba Gulf.

The two islands, Teran and Sanafeer have become under the Egyptian military control with the aim of restricting the Israeli navigation activities. Such a procedure was taken as part of a package of Arab actions to prevent expansion of the Israeli occupation, thereby leading to the three-side aggression against Egypt in 1956.

When Egypt imposed a blockade on the Zionist state by occupying the Al-Aqaba Gulf, which was the primary reason behind war against both Egypt and Syria in June 5, 1967. The Zionist state launched a wider military operation, via which it occupied other new Arab lands.

At that time, the Arab states overlooking the Red Sea realized the potential risk threatening their security and stability. They also realized how important the Red Sea is to the Arab strategy, particularly in the Bab Al-Mandab Strait, which constituted a vital location for serving as a point of contact between the Zionist State, and Africa and Southeast Asia.

During the time period 1970 – 1973, the Zionist State increased its activities in the Red Sea, thus posing a real threat to states of the region, while Yemen prepared itself within this time period as a party in the Arab-Israeli conflict. That was evident through a position adopted by the Yemeni policy during the wars that took place between the Arabs and Israel.

During a meeting at the Arab League, Yemen presented the Zionist activities along the Eritrean coastline and in the vicinity of Bab Al-Mandab Strait. As a result, the Arab League exerted precious efforts in this regard, thereby discovering that the Zionist State is renting from Ethiopia the Abu Al-Tair, Halib and Dahlak islands and the lease was made in cooperation with the United States.

Yemen and other states overlooking the Red Sea were invited to a conference in the Saudi city of Jeddah on July 15, 1972 and on July 11, 1973 during which participants discovered an espionage network in the Tarim Island near Bab Al-Mandab Strait.

The espionage network was in charge of collecting information about southern entrance to the Red Sea and monitoring any Israeli ships, as well as protecting them and ensuring them safe voyages through Bab Al-Mandab Strait.

On Oct. 6, 1973, the Egyptian and Syrian armies attacked Israel, and an Arab coordination was conducted for the first time in order to ensure the Arabs´ right to embody their sovereignty over their territorial waters, most notably the Red Sea. That was also followed by closure of the Bab Al-Mandab Strait on the face of the Zionist state, and therefore Yemen sent troops to several islands in the Red Sea to prevent any an Israeli attempt aimed at occupying the islands.

Source: Al-Tagheer.com

Note

Picture: The daily life in the small Bab al Mandeb harbour seems to have nothing in common with the unfolding MV FAINA crisis further in the south of the Horn of Africa. From a wonderful itinerary - blog:

http://girlsoloinarabia.typepad.com/girl_solo_in_arabia/taizz/