Beirut (South24 Center)

A televised address by Abdulmalik al-Houthi, leader of the Houthi group in Yemen, at the opening session of the 34th Arab National Conference held in Beirut, Lebanon, on November 7, has ignited a wave of anger and sharp criticism within Yemen.

Politicians and activists have accused the conference of "whitewashing" the image of the Iranian-backed Houthi group by providing it an important regional platform. The Houthis are designated as a terrorist organization by the internationally recognized Yemeni government and the United States.

According to Lebanese media reports, the Nov 7-9 conference has brought together over 250 intellectual and political figures from various Arab countries, with sessions dedicated to discussing "the challenges facing the Arab nation and the conflict with the Israeli enemy”.

However, Al-Houthi's appearance via a recorded message during the opening session provoked widespread discontent among prominent Yemeni figures.

In his speech, Al-Houthi stated: "Our people in Yemen stand united in confronting the American-Israeli aggression, and our operations in the Red Sea are merely part of the nation's battle against tyranny."

He added: "Our support for the resistance in Palestine and Lebanon is a religious and humanitarian duty, and we will not retreat from it regardless of the challenges."

Al-Houthi also accused the United States and Israel of seeking to "impose an equation of violation and disarm the resistance in Lebanon, Palestine, and Yemen."

Al-Houthi also alleged that Israel with the support of the United States is “seeking to reshape the Middle East and to establish a Greater Israel”.

Voicing his protest over the Houthi leader being given a platform, former Foreign Minister Abdul-Malek Al-Mikhlafi stated in a post on his Facebook page: "The Arab National Conference's permission for Al-Houthi's address represents a major farce and a serious deviation from its principles and objectives."

He added that "the conference, which was established as a framework uniting nationalist and patriotic currents, has lost its independence and turned into a platform controlled by regional axes since 2015."

Al-Mikhlafi affirmed that giving Al-Houthi an important regional platform constitutes "a complete deviation from the historical reference of the Arab national project."

He emphasized that "the Palestinian cause cannot serve as a cover for those who have committed crimes against their own people and destroyed Yemeni state institutions."

Al-Mikhlafi is considered one of the leaders of the Nasserist nationalist organization in Yemen.

As of Saturday evening, no official comment has been issued by the internationally recognized Yemeni government or the Lebanese government, amid concerns that the Houthi group may seek to exploit the event to expand its regional presence.