Watan-The UAE secretly participates in a joint American-Israeli campaign to protect maritime shipping for Israel and counter attacks by the Houthi group in Yemen.

Diplomatic sources revealed the United States and its allies in Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi have started installing air defense systems in the Gulf of Aden.

This move indicates a shift towards withdrawing American and British warships, which have been facing near-daily attacks.

Yemeni military sources reported that Emirati and American forces have been installing air defense systems, including Patriot and Iron Dome systems, along with early warning radar devices for several days.

These systems are being installed on the Yemeni island of Abdul Kuri, near the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait.

Sources consider the installation of these systems as part of navigation security plans for Israel, currently led by the United States and Britain in the Arabian and Red Seas, in addition to the Gulf of Aden.

This revelation comes amid reports of suspicious Emirati activities on the island, including the transfer of a large quantity of military equipment to the deserted island.

The “Ikhbar” platform published satellite images a few days ago, captured by the “Planet” website, showing intense activity of an Emirati cargo ship named “Takreem” between Abu Dhabi and Abdul Kuri, in addition to Socotra Island, which the Emirati, American, and Israeli forces have turned into an advanced base in the Arabian Sea.

The images also show the construction of a maritime jetty for receiving new shipments.

Yemeni Campaign Against Emirati Practices

Activists in Yemen launched an online campaign under the hashtag “Occupation of the Yemeni Abdul Kuri Island” to condemn intensive activities aimed at secretly establishing an Emirati-Israeli military and intelligence base on Abdul Kuri Island.

The UAE and Israel have established a military and intelligence base on Abdul Kuri Island, part of the Socotra Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, with an area of ​​133 square kilometers.

Emirati forces began evacuating Yemeni army forces and local forces from the island, as well as relocating residents to the “Qasir” area.

Emirati Airplane Runway on Abdul Kuri Island

In August 2022, an investigation by the “Ikhbar” platform revealed that the UAE was building a new runway for airplanes on Abdul Kuri Island in Yemen.

The platform stated that its team obtained satellite images from the Maxar satellite, showing that the UAE had begun building a new runway on Abdul Kuri Island concurrently with the old runway, construction of which began in December 2021.

It explained that construction of the new runway started west of the old runway in early July 2022, with the appearance of a narrow paved strip of land.

The recent image shows the completion of construction of the new runway at the end of July, specifically on July 23, 2022.