Houthi Strikes Hit Saudi Oil Sites     09/08 06:23

   Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia have ignited fires at several oil facilities 
and wounded dozens of people, raising the stakes in renewed fighting between a 
U.S. ally and an Iranian proxy just days after deadly clashes in Iran, Lebanon 
and Gaza.

   (AP) -- Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia have ignited fires at several oil 
facilities and wounded dozens of people, raising the stakes in renewed fighting 
between a U.S. ally and an Iranian proxy just days after deadly clashes in 
Iran, Lebanon and Gaza.

   Meanwhile, Britain is set to ban goods from Israeli settlements in the 
occupied West Bank in response to an expansion program.

   Here's a look at the latest news in the Middle East. Full coverage can be 
found here.

   Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia set fires and wound 73 people

   A wave of Houthi attacks ignited fires at several oil facilities and 
utilities in Saudi Arabia's southern region, injuring at least 73 people, 
officials said.

   The attacks early on Tuesday mark a major escalation in the renewed conflict 
between an important U.S. ally and the Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen. They 
follow weeks of heightening clashes between the Houthis and Saudi-backed 
government forces in Yemen, which shattered a four-year truce in the country's 
civil war.

   The flare-up brings further instability to a region scarred by nearly three 
years of wars, raising fresh concerns for the global economy. It also threatens 
to squeeze shipping through the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a critical route for oil 
and global trade that has helped cushion the blow as Iran chokes off shipping 
through the Strait of Hormuz.

   The attacks hit "civilian and economic facilities" in the Saudi cities of 
Abha's Jazan, Najran and Khamis Mushait said Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki, a 
spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen, said in a 
statement. Al-Malki said those wounded in the attack included women and 
children.

   The Saudi Energy Ministry said the attacks ignited fires at several oil 
facilities and utilities in the kingdom's southern region, temporarily halting 
operations.

   UK prepares to ban goods from Israeli settlements

   The U.K. government is preparing to impose a ban on goods from Israeli 
settlements in the occupied West Bank, saying an expansion program there is 
endangering efforts to establish a Palestinian state.

   Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband is due to give details in the House of Commons 
later on Tuesday, after saying last week that he would "reset" U.K. relations 
with Israel.

   Before the announcement, Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said that 
it "isn't intended to be a boycott of all Israeli goods."

   The government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has presided 
over a surge of settlement construction in the West Bank, which Israel seized 
in the 1967 Mideast war and which would make up the main part of a future 
Palestinian state.

   The international community considers the settlements illegal or 
illegitimate, and the Palestinians say they are the main barrier to a lasting 
peace agreement. But Netanyahu's government views the West Bank as the biblical 
and historical homeland of the Jewish people and is opposed to the creation of 
a Palestinian state.

   The United Kingdom, a longtime ally of Israel, recognized Palestinian 
statehood last year in an attempt to revive dwindling efforts to achieve a 
two-state solution.