The governments of the US and Great Britain – which started to work closely with the Saleh regime in the war against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and other Salafist groups after 9-11 –, initially took a cautious stand. However, when it became clear that the protests were unremitting and starting to spread elsewhere, Washington and London gradually shifted their political allegiance. UN Special Adviser on Yemen, Jamal Benomar, and others supported mediation by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) between Saleh, on the one hand, and the Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) and the al-Ahmar’s on the other.

Yemen and the United States are officially co-operating in the battle against al-Qaeda. American CIA agents are believed to be operating in Yemen. In 2002, these agents hunted down and killed Qaid Sinan al-Harthi, better known as Abu Ali, one of those held responsible for the attack on the USS Cole, by firing a missile from an unmanned aircraft at the car in which he was travelling with five other suspects.

Overview of regional in-depth Fanack articles related to this and other Fanack country files.

Fanack presents a series of infographics and maps of the Middle East and North Africa, with topics ranging from civilizations of the Middle East, to refugees and cultural heritage sites at risk.

Palestinian Muslims are Sunni Muslims, adherents to the main branch within Islam. All Muslims are obliged to fulfil five acts, the so-called Five Pillars of Islam: the creed (al-shahada) ‘There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger’; daily prayers, five times a day (al-salat); almsgiving (al-zakat); fasting during Ramadan (al-sawm); and the pilgrimage to Mecca (the hadj). In addition to the Five Pillars, there is the duty to defend the community of believers (umma) against unbelievers and apostates in their own community (jihad).

In addition, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad instigated a series of suicide bombings on civilian targets in Israel after 1994. This was after an Israeli settler in the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron had shot dead a number of worshipers and injured many others.