In the aftermath of the attack on 16 cities in Yemen, a large demonstration was held in Sanaa, the capital of North Yemen. Preceded by the words of the president of the Republic of North Yemen: Mahdi Al-Mashat which reads: “We will demonstrate to the Americans and the English that Yemen is a cemetery of invaders”.
One of the Houthi leaders Muhammad Al-Bukhaiti told Al-Arabi: “American and British interests will be a target for our forces wherever they are.” Not exclusively near Yemen. The fear is therefore that terrorist attacks will occur in areas of US or British interest. The Houthi objective of the blockade of the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea remains achieved: blocking the navigation of ships.
On January 12, the Chinese giant COSCO reiterates that it is interrupting transport to Israel. Chinese shipping giant COSCO has notified importers and exporters that it will suspend its services to Israel. The announcement comes after some industry leaders announced they will refrain from sailing in the Red Sea, but will continue to travel to Israel via other routes.
It was previously reported that COSCO was launching a new route for the transportation of Chinese electric vehicles to Israel, which became the third in the list of importers of cars for the Celestial Empire of this type. Maritime industry sources estimate that COSCO’s decision will mainly affect the port of Haifa, although it is operated by a Chinese company.
For Israel, the blockade of ports also means a blockade of trade and an economic stalemate. The Bank of Israel intervened to stabilize the currency did not sell currency in December, reserves exceeded $200 billion
Israel’s foreign exchange reserves increased by $6.4 billion in December and stood at $204.3 billion at the end of the year, the Bank of Israel reports. After two months during which the Bank of Israel intervened in the domestic currency market, the central bank did not sell any currency in December.
At the start of the war in October, the Bank of Israel launched a plan to sell up to $30 billion of its foreign exchange reserves on the foreign exchange market, fearing that the war would lead to a sharp depreciation of the shekel. The Bank of Israel’s own decision brought stability to the market and the shekel quickly returned to pre-war levels and strengthened further in recent weeks.
Antonio Albanese e Graziella Giangiulio
