If Israel can declare itself a sovereign nation on another peoples land there is no reason rebel groups cannot call themselves legitimate rulers. Anyone can call themselves anything.
There are criteria. It’s not simply self declared.
International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defined territory, a government not under another, and the capacity to interact with other states.
The Houthis are a Zaydi Shiite movement that has been fighting Yemen's Sunni-majority government since 2004. They reside in Yemen, so they have no land, and they are governed by Yemen. Therefore they are a faction, not a nation.
I was referring to your requirements for being a state. Even in your explanation you state that they have no land, therefore no mailing address, so thats why they are not a nation.
Ownership of land with agreed-upon borders defines a country. A nation needs to govern its land, but does not necessarily have permanent agreed-upon borders. That’s why Palestine is a nation, but not a country, for example.
You’re heavily projecting. I’m not defending Israel, nor do I support what they’ve done to Palestinians. I’m sharing cited factual information about the legal difference between a group, nation, and country. My opinion didn’t even enter the conversation until you incorrectly assumed what it was.
I agree that both settlements were wrong. Now that there’s an established system to define nations and countries, I think it’s important to be informed on how it works.
For example, the “favor” Netanyahu does by telling Palestinians to evacuate couldn’t be more corrupt. Since Palestine is a nation, but not a country with defined borders, full evacuation of settled land is no longer under their control and can legally be taken by Israel.
The same is not true for Ukraine, for example. Since it is a country, if all Ukrainians evacuate an area due to Russian invasion, it becomes a Russian occupation of Ukraine, not Russian land.