Israel is Armando Palestinian Militia to combat Hamas in Gaza, authorities say

Jerusalem – Israel is setting up a Palestinian militia in the Gaza Strip as part of a broader effort to combat Hamas at the Enclave, according to authorities. After a day of controversy over the allegations, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged on Thursday that the country had been working with “clans in Gaza.”

Two Israeli employees and another source familiar with the matter said the Israeli authorities provided support, including weapons, Yasser Abu Shabab, a well -known guerrilla who leads a militia in southern Gaza. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive issue.

Abu Shabab is believed to command a relatively small armed group in the city of Rafah, southern Gaza. He became famous in the territory last year amid charges – which he contested – that he would have looted and resold humanitarian aid loads for the hungry residents of Gaza.

One of the sources described Israel’s action as symbolic – to reinforce the impression that Hamas was losing his control over Gaza’s Palestinian residents. It is unclear what effect is the decision to set up a Palestinian militia would have on security conditions in Gaza. But Israel’s decision offered a window to the country’s difficulties in finding an alternative to the Hamas government in the territory after more than a year and a half of war – and his willingness to experience potentially risky strategies for it.

Netanyahu said Israel had “enabled clans in Gaza who oppose Hamas”, calling it “a good thing” that saved lives from Israeli soldiers. “What’s wrong with that?” He asked in a video posted on social networks, saying he decided to approve the measure after being advised by security officers. But he avoided mentioning the sending of weapons.

Abu Shabab rejected “total and in detail” the statement that his group would have received Israel weapons in a statement on social networks on Thursday night. He said that “invalid allegations” were published to discredit an effort that formed organically and “placed against injustice, withdrawal and corruption.”

Israel is struggling to overthrow Hamas since the group launched the deadly attacks of 7 October 2023 that triggered the war. But Israelis have difficulty finding a satisfactory answer to what could replace the Islamic group that governs Gaza since 2007.

Netanyahu, along with other senior members of his government, ruled out to allow the internationally supported Palestinian authority to take control in Gaza. At one point, Israel tried to contact Gaza’s prominent families to help manage civilian affairs, Netanyahu said in an interview last year, but the effort failed after Hamas “eliminates them,” he added.

Israeli policy to support Abu Shabab with weapons seemed to overcome previous efforts to ensure partners in Gaza. But it was not yet clear how controlling the Gaza Militia leader had on the ground. Israeli legislators said in March that they were informed that Hamas forces still totaled more than 25,000.

Abu Shabab’s name became known during the War in Gaza after he was accused of plundering the United Nations aid trucks last year along with his armed men. An employee of the UN who struggled to make the needy aid to the needy in Gaza described him as “the self -enforced intermediate power of Rafah’s east power.”

In an interview at the time, Abu Shabab denied being profitable, saying that he was taking goods only to feed himself and his family. But witnesses gave a different account, including a trucker who said he was captured by the men of Abu Shabab and forced to discharge tons of help.

Hamas subsequently repressed Abu Shabab’s group, killing his brother, although he himself escaped his capture. The Hamas official media reported at the time that their forces had killed 20 members of “gangs of thieves who were stealing help.”

In recent weeks, Abu Shabab has been campaigning on social networks to improve his image. This week, he summoned Palestinians displaced to return to an area of ​​East Rafah that suggested being under his control. In a video posted on Facebook, he said, along with images of empty tents, which would provide them with food and shelter.

Yossi Amrosi, a former Israeli intelligence officer who specializes in Gaza, said the Abu Shabab group and similar ones are not supporters of Israel, but that this is not the most important factor at the moment. He estimated the strength of the group in a few hundred combatants.

“At this moment we have a common enemy: Hamas,” he said. But he warned that if Israel is actually providing weapons to Abu Shabab forces, “it would require strict supervision to make sure it doesn’t turn against us.”

Netanyahu’s announcement came after Avigdor Libeman, a member of the opposition in the Israeli parliament and former defense minister, accused the prime minister in a radio interview of authorizing arms transfers to a criminal gang in Gaza.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said on social networks on Thursday that Netanyahu’s decision to send weapons to the militia would eventually turn against Israel. “Everything is being done of improvisation, without strategic planning; all this will lead to disaster,” said Lapid. “The weapons that enter Gaza will eventually be pointed out against Israeli soldiers and civilians.”