Regional sources report that Israel and Saudi Arabia are conducting covert contacts in an effort to formulate a military assistance plan, following Saudi feelers and requests for help sent to Jerusalem in recent days in the wake of setbacks on the Yemeni front.
According to the reports, after Riyadh transmitted a request for military aid through U.S. Central Command to several regional countries in recent days, with Israel at the top of the list, dialogue is now taking place between the sides regarding the nature of the assistance and the coordination required for upcoming moves on the Yemeni front.
Sources close to U.S. Central Command explain that these are preliminary contacts, but both sides have an interest in acting against the rebels and therefore the talks are advancing quickly. At this stage, they are focusing in the first phase on Israeli intelligence assistance to Saudi Arabia in its operations against the Houthi rebels, though this may be only the first step in a new chapter in relations between Riyadh and Jerusalem.
Some sources claim that intelligence assistance and target designation from Israel to the Saudis has already begun flowing, and active mapping of Houthi force concentrations has commenced.
Israel itself cannot welcome Houthi control of the Bab al-Mandab strait at the entrance to the Red Sea, and this may also lead to an acceleration in expanding relations with Somaliland.
