Houthis exposed Saudi Arabia's weakness — Israel must draw conclusions

Analyst Michal Yaari assesses that the confrontation with the Houthis has exposed Saudi Arabia's inability to ensure its own security, despite multi-billion dollar military spending. She notes that reliance on US protection proved unreliable, and attempts to diversify ties have not provided a comparable level of defense. The strengthening of the Houthis demonstrates a 'paradox of power': technological superiority does not guarantee victory. For Israel, this means that the familiar regional security architecture is becoming less predictable.

Analyst on Arab Gulf states Michal Yaari assesses that the confrontation with the Houthis has exposed a fundamental weakness of Saudi Arabia. Despite hundreds of billions of dollars spent on developing its armed forces, the kingdom proved unable to independently ensure its own security. Yaari notes that events around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait demonstrated that the familiar security architecture in the region is ceasing to function. She emphasizes that the Houthis are not a simple puppet of Iran — the group has its own interests. The problem became apparent as early as 2019 after the attack on Saudi oil facilities, when the US under Trump did not intervene. Since then, Riyadh has been trying to diversify its security ties, including relations with Turkey and Pakistan, but no full replacement for the US has been found. Yaari believes that for Israel, the main conclusion is that the familiar system of relations in the Middle East is becoming significantly less predictable.