Yemen’s Houthi rebels have said their group’s designation by the United States as a “terrorist organisation” was a result of their support for the “oppressed Palestinian people”, Al Jazeera reports.

“The American designation targets all the Yemeni people and their honourable position in support of the oppressed Palestinian people,” a Houthi statement quoted by the affiliated Al Masirah TV channel said.

“This reflects the degree of bias on the part of the current American administration in favour of the usurper Zionist entity [Israel].”