Semi-Official Source: Al-Zubaidi Made Undeclared Visit to Israel on June 16

      A semi-official source close to the Yemeni government told Sheba Intelligence that Southern Transitional Council president Aidarus al-Zubaidi made an undeclared visit to Israel on June 16, amid growing Yemeni concerns over STC external movements, Socotra, and Somaliland.

The timing is significant. Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi arrived in Israel on June 14 and was formally received by Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on June 15, in the first official visit of its kind by a Somaliland leader to Israel. Al-Zubaidi’s alleged visit, according to the source, came one day after those high-level meetings, placing the STC leader’s undeclared move within the same Israeli-Somaliland diplomatic track.

The source said the Yemeni government is aware of developments related to the visit, as well as STC-linked moves that may be aimed at creating political and security disorder in southern Yemen. According to the source, these moves coincide with arrangements connected to Socotra, including military camps and maritime training for STC-linked Yemeni forces in Somaliland.

The June 16 timing also coincided with controversial remarks attributed to Socotra Governor Raafat al-Thaqali, who is aligned with the STC. Yemeni media reported that al-Thaqali questioned the Yemeni identity of the archipelago during a conference in Aden and referred to Socotra’s geographic proximity to Somalia, sparking public and political anger and calls for his dismissal. The remarks reinforced concerns that Socotra is being pushed toward a special political status outside the normal authority of the Yemeni state.

The issue comes amid a broader Yemeni diplomatic campaign at the United Nations. During a Security Council session on Yemen on June 16, Yemen’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Abdullah al-Saadi, urged the Council to update the Yemen sanctions framework to include individuals and entities accused of undermining state institutions, obstructing the political process, or attempting to impose unilateral measures by force. Media reports said al-Zubaidi was named in this context, as the Yemeni government pushed for possible UN action against the STC leader.

The Yemeni government views the matter as a sovereignty issue that goes beyond the STC’s foreign political activity. It is linked to islands, ports, and maritime routes in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, with Socotra at the center of these concerns because of its location near key shipping lanes between the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and Bab al-Mandab.

Sheba Intelligence previously reported on maritime preparations and training for UAE-linked Yemeni forces in Somaliland, amid indications that these arrangements may be connected to a possible move toward Socotra. Yemeni sources say such camps outside Yemen provide STC-linked forces with external depth that could support future security or military action on the island.

For the Yemeni government, Socotra remains the most sensitive point in this file. Any attempt to use external camps, foreign contacts, or regional backing to alter the situation on the island would represent a direct challenge to Yemeni sovereignty and could open a new front of tension inside the anti-Houthi camp.