Al Houthi urges Saudi coalition to expedite all-for-all prisoner swap
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Member of the Supreme Political Council in Yemen, Mohammad Ali Al-Houthi, calls on Saudi Arabia and its coalition to expedite the prisoner exchange as per the all-for-all equation.
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The head of the revolutionary committee of Yemen's Armed Forces, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi speaks to a reporter during an interview with Associated Press in Sanaa, Yemen, Tuesday Mar. 19, 2019. (AP)
Yemen's Supreme Political Council member, Mohammad Ali Al-Houthi, confirmed that the prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and the Palestinian factions on one hand, and the Israeli occupation on the other, announced by Qatar today, will be completed according to the agreed timing.
On this occasion, Al-Houthi urged Saudi Arabia and its coalition to expediate the exchange of prisoners, emphasizing the importance of promptly implementing the agreed-upon terms in this humanitarian file.
This includes prisoners from Palestine, in line with previous discussions, as any delays are considered unacceptable in such a critical situation.
سيكتمل الافراج عن صفقة الأسرى بين حماس والفصائل من جهة وبين الاحتلال الإسرائيلي من جهة أخرى
— محمد علي الحوثي (@Moh_Alhouthi) November 23, 2023
بحسب التوقيت باذن الله .
إنني ادعو بالمناسبة #السعودية
وتحالفها إلى الإسراع في تبادل الأسرى الكل مقابل الكل
وعدم التأخير لما تم الاتفاق عليه في هذا الملف كونه ملف إنساني لايقبل…
Earlier in October, the government of Sanaa expressed its readiness to release Saudi and Sudanese detainees who had been fighting alongside the Saudi-led coalition forces. Sanaa has stipulated that the release be part of a prisoner exchange deal that includes the coalition-appointed Yemeni government, adding that the Saudi-led coalition is not serious about finalizing such a deal.
It is worth noting that on June 18, talks between the Sanaa government and the coalition-appointed government on the prisoners' file ended in an agreement for a new round of negotiations following Eid al-Adha, however, no serious talks have taken place since.
Attempts to draw the two sides closer to a prisoner exchange deal, via reciprocal visits to prisons in Marib and Sanaa were hindered in May this year after the coalition-appointed government added a new batch of conditions. According to both governments' figures, there is a total of 15,000 detainees on both sides.
On April 17, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) announced that a deal had been reached for the release of around 887 detainees, during negotiations that took place in Switzerland between the two sides.
Although talks are ongoing between Sanaa and different sides of the Saudi-led coalition, including Riyadh itself, progress on several issues including detainees, the lifting of the blockade on Yemen, and other humanitarian issues have not seen significant progress.
