DUBAI (Dispatches) – The United Arab Emirates is reportedly constructing a settlement on the strategic Yemeni island of Socotra to accommodate dozens of Zionist troops, officers and military experts, more than a year after the aggressor kingdom normalized ties with the occupying regime.
Local sources, requesting anonymity, said Khalifa bin Zayed Institute has launched a plan to build housing units for the Zionist troops at the joint Emirati-Zionist military base on the island, according to Yemen News Portal website.
The sources noted that construction of the residential complexes is in line with the UAE’s efforts to accommodate the families of Zionist officers. Dozens of Zionist families have arrived in Socotra in recent weeks as tourists.
The sources pointed out that the aim of the UAE plan is to expand the occupying regime’s military presence in Socotra, as the regime is trying to turn the island into a center of its espionage operations in order to dominate maritime routes.
Recently, informed sources announced that the UAE has officially started financing the construction of a military base in Yemen. The sources said the base was to be built on Abd al-Kuri island, which is part of the Socotra Archipelago.
Back in September last year, Yemen News Agency reported that the UAE was helping the Zionist regime set up a center for military and maritime reconnaissance on the Socotra Island.
Citing local sources, the agency said the Red Crescent Society of the United Arab Emirates had signed a contract with the Zionist regime in order to create an espionage center for the Zionist regime’s air force at Socotra airport.
Home to some 60,000 people, Socotra overlooks the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a main shipping route that connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea. It has a unique ecosystem.