Maariv poll: 54% of Israelis back aid to Saudi Arabia against Houthis

Of those polled, 38% said such help should depend on a normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia,

By Vered Weiss World Israel News

A majority of Israelis support assisting Saudi Arabia in its conflict with the Houthis, a Maariv poll found, as Riyadh seeks a coordinated international effort to curb the group’s capabilities near the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

The survey found that 54% of Israelis favor providing assistance to Saudi Arabia.

Of those polled, 38% said such help should depend on a normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia, while 16% supported assistance without an immediate diplomatic concession in return.

Another 26% opposed Israeli assistance, while 20% said they did not know.

Maariv conducted the poll September 16-17. Of 4,089 people invited to participate, 600 respondents, or 15%, answered.

The survey represents Israel’s adult population age 18 and older, including Jews and Arabs, and has a maximum sampling error of 4%.

The findings were published a day after a Saudi official rejected the prospect that Israeli assistance against the Houthis would lead to normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel, Kan News reported.

Any normalization agreement must be preceded by a resolution of the Palestinian issue that includes tangible steps toward establishing a Palestinian state, the official said, repeating a position previously expressed by Saudi officials.

Several regional diplomatic sources said Israel has supplied Riyadh with intelligence through US Central Command, or CENTCOM, but has not taken a direct role in military operations.

Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, is not seeking a large-scale military offensive against the Houthis. Riyadh reportedly favors an internationally coordinated campaign aimed at gradually weakening the group’s capabilities, starting with efforts to regain areas recently seized near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

Conditions around the strategic waterway, which links the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, have deteriorated in recent days. Houthi advances in the area have increased Saudi and international concerns about maritime security and the possibility of a broader conflict in Yemen.