The United States has announced the resumption of full humanitarian aid supplies to northern Yemen, which is under the control of the Iranian-backed Houthi militia (Ansar Allah), saying millions are on the brink of famine.
Last year much of the aid was cut when it was discovered by Trump administration officials that Houthi militants were diverting the humanitarian assistance to themselves, imposing taxes, harassing aid workers and outright stealing the aid.
The Biden administration notified aid groups and US lawmakers on Thursday that funding will resume along with the new monitoring mechanisms to try and make sure the relief reaches the starving civilians this time around.
According to the World Food Program, more than 70 percent of those living in Yemen need food assistance. Up to $50 million in funds and aid will be moving back into Houthi-controlled territory through the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
Oddly, the Biden administration has not sent life-saving COVID-19 vaccines to the desperately needy citizens of the Palestinian Authority, even though Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders wrote a letter with colleagues to Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging that he pressure the cash-strapped State of Israel to do so.
It’s not clear why Sanders believes tiny Israel would have more resources to offer the Ramallah government than his own.
A better plan would be for the Senator to personally head an emergency mission to deliver enough doses of the coronavirus vaccine to inoculate the PA entire population — as he expected the Israelis to do.
