Aid to Yemen is withdrawn – for Israel's sake

Published 26 November 2024 at 08.13

Domestic. Aid Minister Benjamin Dousa (M) now announces that the Swedish development aid to Yemen is stopped, due to the fact that the Houthi rebels trouble Israel. At the same time, the government continues to delay the withdrawal of aid to countries that refuse to accept deported immigrants from Sweden.

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An important point in the Tidö Agreement was that the government would withdraw aid to countries that refuse to take back citizens who are to be deported from Sweden.

Just over two years after the government took office, no aid has yet been withdrawn for this reason. Now, however, development aid to Yemen must be stopped – quickly – to satisfy Israeli interests.

Somalia refuses to take back its citizens – now Finland is stopping the aid in protest:

The government with the True Finns is putting its foot down.

The Somalis now risk losing 100 million kroner. https://t.co/9Ul50DGLnm

— Fria Tider (@friatider) November 20, 2024

The background is the Houthi rebels and their support for the Palestinians in the fight against Israel. Sida is tasked with ending aid operations in Houthi-controlled parts of the country by the end of the year at the latest, and in other parts by 30 June 2025 at the latest.

– Since 2020, Sweden has had a small amount of development aid to Yemen. Against the backdrop of the difficult security situation in the country and the increasingly destructive behavior of the Houthis, we are now choosing to phase out development aid, says Minister for Aid and Foreign Trade Benjamin Dousa (M).

Development aid has been around SEK 80 million annually, but the government assesses that it is no longer possible to guarantee that the funds reach recipients who do not pose a problem for Israel, especially in northern Yemen. Despite this, Sweden will continue to provide humanitarian support to the country, where the needs are considered great due to the ongoing humanitarian crisis.

For 2024, Sweden has allocated SEK 287 million in humanitarian aid to Yemen. The government also emphasizes its support for UN agencies working in the country, including UNICEF, WHO and WFP.