Hanish Islands conflict The Hanish Islands conflict , was a dispute between Yemen and Eritrea over the island of Greater Hanish in the Red Sea , one of the largest in the then disputed Zukur - Hanish archipelago . Fighting took place over three days from 15 December to 17 December 1995 . In 1998 the Permanent Court of Arbitration determined that the most of archipelago belonged to Yemen . Background . The archipelago is on the southern side of the Red Sea near Bab - el - Mandeb ( Mouth of the Red Sea ) . The Red Sea is about 30 miles ( 50 km ) wide at this point . Since the British occupation of Aden the islands had generally been regarded as part of Yemen . After being granted independence and membership of the United Nations , the new Eritrean government had started negotiations with Yemen over the status of the archipelago . Two rounds of talks had taken place before the invasion : Greater Hanish ( or " Hanish al - Kabir " ) is one of three main islands in an archipelago , and until 1995 was inhabited only by a handful of Yemeni fishermen . In 1995 a German company , under Yemeni auspices , began building a hotel and scuba diving centre on the Island . The Yemenis then sent a force of 200 men to guard the construction site . Eritrean officials thought that the construction work on Greater Hanish was an attempt to establish facts on the ground before the negotiations scheduled for February started . " Prompted by concern over the Yemeni construction project on Hanish al - Kabir , Eritrea ' s Foreign Minister Petros Solomon delivered , on 11 November 1995 , an ultimatum giving San ' a one month to withdraw Yemeni military forces and civilians from Hanish al - Kabir " . Armed conflict . When the Eritrean ultimatum ran out and the Yemeni military forces and civilians had not withdrawn , Eritrea launched an operation to take the island by force . The Eritreans used all seaworthy vessels that they had to land ground forces on the islands . Some Eritrean troops landed in fishing vessels and a commandeered Egypt ian ferry . The Eritreans also used aircraft to ferry troops to the island . Eritrean forces attacked the Yemeni contingent and overran the entire island within three days of combat . During the fighting , a Russia n merchant ship was damaged by Eritrean gunfire after being mistaken for a Yemeni naval vessel . Foreign involvement . The Eritrean attack in Hanish islands was blamed by Yemenis to be supported by Israel . According to Yemeni sources , the Eritrean operation may have been directed by Israeli officers . Sources close to the office of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh claimed that " several Israelis " had directed the operation , including a Lieutenant - Colonel named as Michael Duma . This claim was based on several coded messages in Hebrew allegedly intercepted by Yemeni intelligence . Despite this , Yemen made no formal complaint to Israel . According to Steven Carol , in light of Yemeni military humiliation in the battle for Great Hanish island , the proposed allegation of Israeli involvement was nothing more than an attempt of Yemen to " save some face " . Arbitration . As no resolution to the problem could be reached in bilateral talks , the status of the archipelago was placed in front of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in the Netherlands . At the conclusion of the proceedings , both nations acquiesced to the 1998 decision which said sovereignty should be shared . On 1 November 1998 " Yemeni Defence Minister Mohammad Diefallah Mohammad raised his country ' s flag over the island of Greater Hanish as Yemeni army and navy troops took up positions on it . At the same time , Eritrean troops departed on board a helicopter and a naval vessel . "