Israel confirms it is arming ‘clans' in Gaza to combat Hamas
Israeli
security officials have confirmed that 'clans' in southern
Gaza
are being armed as a counterweight to
Hamas
.
Former defence minister Avigdor Lieberman, head of the opposition Yisrael Beiteinu party, criticised the development this week in an interview with Kan public radio.
'Israel gave assault rifles and small arms to crime families in Gaza on [prime minister Binyamin]
Netanyahu
's orders. I doubt it went through the security cabinet. No one can guarantee these weapons won't eventually be turned against Israel,' he warned, implying that some of the criminal gangs also had links to Islamic State.
Israeli officials initially refused to comment on the reports but Mr Netanyahu this week confirmed Mr Lieberman's claim, saying Israel is working to defeat Hamas through various means, as recommended by security chiefs.
READ MORE
'On the advice of security officials, we are operating clans in Gaza that oppose Hamas. What is wrong with that? This is only good and it has saved the lives of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers,' he said. 'Revealing this was only good for Hamas – but Lieberman doesn't care.'
Israel has accused Hamas of seizing large quantities of the humanitarian aid that enters Gaza, thus maintaining its control over the population and also providing funds to pay its fighters and recruit new gunmen. Hamas has denied the allegations.
At the same time the Israeli leadership has resisted any role for the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority in controlling Gaza and, to undermine Hamas, has turned to local extended-family clans, reportedly connected to crime and drugs.
It is believed that hundreds of pistols and Kalashnikov assault rifles, seized from militant groups during the 20-month conflict, were transferred from Israel to Palestinian clans in Gaza.
The main clan being supported by Israel operates in the Rafah area of southern Gaza under the leadership of a local Bedouin called Yasser Abu Shabab and has erected camps for displaced war refugees in areas under its control. A number of fatal armed clashes have already occurred between Hamas and the Abu Shabab clan.
Mr Abu Shabab has claimed his men operate 'under Palestinian legitimacy' and are trying to protect aid lorries and prevent looting in Rafah to enable displaced residents to return to their homes. He has denied receiving weapons from Israel and allegations that his men have seized aid supplies.
Hamas has called on Palestinians to oppose the Israeli-supported militia, accusing Israel of creating chaos in Gaza.
[
Gaza Strip: Aid group says all its distribution sites closed after dozens of Palestinians shot dead
Opens in new window
]
Israeli security officials described the move as a calculated risk, admitting there is no guarantee that the local clans will not open fire at IDF soldiers in the future.
'There is no plan or intent for them to run Rafah on the day after [the war] because they have no such ability and probably also don't want to,' security officials said. 'It's true that their main motivation is financial, but they are still part of the Arab nation, both as Bedouins and also as residents of the Gaza Strip. The decision was not unanimous, particularly because of the risk that the weapons will be used against IDF soldiers in the southern Gaza Strip.'
The liberal daily newspaper Ha'aretz, in an apparent reference to past events in Lebanon, warned in an editorial on Friday that Israel does not have a good history when it comes to arming local militias in areas under its control.
[
It's in Europe's interest to put sanctions on Israel
Opens in new window
]
'Experience teaches that the use of gunmen who don't represent the local public as proxies for the IDF is asking for trouble. These militiamen will be seen as collaborators and will therefore have to use force to repress the population. They may even turn their weapons against the IDF.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Journal
4 hours ago
- The Journal
Israeli forces retrieve body of Thai hostage from Gaza as Netanyahu admits supporting militants in Gaza
ISRAELI FORCES HAVE retrieved from the Gaza Strip the body of Natthapong Pinta, a Thai taken hostage during Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack, officials said Saturday. A military statement said the army and the Shin Bet security agency carried out an operation on Friday and 'recovered the body of Natthapong Pinta from the Rafah area' of southern Gaza. 'Nattaphong Pinta was abducted alive by terrorists… from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023, and was murdered while in captivity,' the statement alleged, blaming the Mujahideen Brigades, an armed group close to Hamas ally Islamic Jihad. Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement that the hostage's body was 'returned to Israel' in 'a special operation' in the Rafah area. 'Natthapong came to Israel from Thailand to work in agriculture, out of a desire to build a better future for himself and his family,' Katz said. He was 'brutally murdered in captivity by the terrorist organisation Mujahideen Brigades', the minister charged. The military statement alleged that the militant group which stormed Nir Oz during Hamas's 2023 attack was to blame for the deaths of several other hostages. 'The murderous Mujahideen terrorist organisation abducted, held and murdered Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, whose bodies were returned as part of the last hostage deal, as well as the bodies of Gad Haggai and Judi Lynn Weinstein, which were returned earlier this week,' the statement said. 'The Mujahideen terrorist organisation has also murdered and is holding the body of another foreign national,' it added. The statement said Natthapong's family and Thai officials had been notified of the operation to recover his body. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group urged Israeli authorities in a statement to 'do what is needed to reach an agreement' to free the remaining captives. Of the 251 hostages taken during Hamas's attack that triggered the Gaza war, 55 remain in captivity, including 31 the Israeli military says are dead. According to the Nir Oz community, 117 residents were killed and more than 60 percent of its houses destroyed during the Hamas attack. The 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures. According to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, at least 54,677 people have been killed in the territory since 7 October 2023, also mostly civilians. Israel arming militant anti-Hamas group Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted that Israel is supporting an armed group in Gaza that opposes the militant group Hamas, following comments by a former minister that Israel had transferred weapons to it. Israeli and Palestinian media have reported that the group Israel has been working with is part of a local Bedouin tribe led by Yasser Abu Shabab. Advertisement The European Council on Foreign Relations (EFCR) think tank describes Abu Shabab as the leader of a 'criminal gang operating in the Rafah area that is widely accused of looting aid trucks'. Knesset member and ex-defence minister Avigdor Lieberman had told the Kan public broadcaster that the government, at Netanyahu's direction, was 'giving weapons to a group of criminals and felons'. 'What did Lieberman leak? … That on the advice of security officials, we activated clans in Gaza that oppose Hamas. What is bad about that?' Netanyahu said in a video posted to social media on Thursday. 'It is only good, it is saving lives of Israeli soldiers.' Michael Milshtein, an expert on Palestinian affairs at the Moshe Dayan Center in Tel Aviv, told news organisation AFP that the Abu Shabab clan was part of a Bedouin tribe that spans across the border between Gaza and Egypt's Sinai peninsula. Some of the tribe's members, he said, were involved in 'all kinds of criminal activities, drug smuggling, and things like that'. Army spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin on Friday confirmed the military supported arming local militias in Gaza but remained tight-lipped on the details. 'I can say that we are operating in various ways against Hamas governance,' Defrin said during a televised press conference when questioned on the subject, without elaborating further. Milshtein said that Abu Shabab had spent time in prison in Gaza and that his clan chiefs had recently denounced him as an Israeli 'collaborator and a gangster'. 'It seems that actually the Shabak (Israeli security agency) or the (military) thought it was a wonderful idea to turn this militia, gang actually, into a proxy, to give them weapons and money and shelter' from army operations, Milshtein said. He added that Hamas killed four members of the gang days ago. The ECFR said Abu Shabab was 'reported to have been previously jailed by Hamas for drug smuggling. His brother is said to have been killed by Hamas during a crackdown against the group's attacks on UN aid convoys.' Israel regularly accuses Hamas, with which it has been at war for nearly 20 months, of looting aid convoys in Gaza. Hamas said the group had 'chosen betrayal and theft as their path' and called on civilians to oppose them. Hamas, which has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades, said it had evidence of 'clear coordination between these looting gangs, collaborators with the occupation (Israel), and the enemy army itself in the looting of aid and the fabrication of humanitarian crises that deepen the suffering of' Palestinians. The Popular Forces, as Abu Shabab's group calls itself, said on Facebook it had 'never been, and will never be, a tool of the occupation'. 'Our weapons are simple, outdated and came through the support of our own people,' it added. Milshtein called Israel's decision to arm a group such as Abu Shabab 'a fantasy, not something that you can really describe as a strategy'. 'I really hope it will not end with catastrophe,' he said.
Irish Examiner
6 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Israel says its military has retrieved body of Thai hostage from Gaza
Israel says it has retrieved the body of a Thai hostage kidnapped and taken into Gazaon October 7, 2023. The country's prime minister's office said on Saturday that the body of Thai citizen Nattapong Pinta was returned to Israel in a special military operation. The announcement comes as Israel continues its military offensive across the strip, killing at least 22 people overnight, according to health officials. Mr Pinta was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz and killed in captivity near the start of the war, said the Israeli government. This comes two days after the bodies of two Israeli-American hostages were retrieved. Fifty-five hostages remain in Gaza, of whom Israel says more than half are dead. Israel's defence minister said on Saturday that Mr Pinta's body was retrieved from the Rafah area. He had come to Israel from Thailand to work in agriculture. A statement from the hostage forum, which supports the hostages, said it stands with Mr Pinta's family and shares in their grief. It called on the country's decision makers to bring home the remaining hostages and give those who have died a proper burial. Thais were the largest group of foreigners held captive by Hamas militants. Many of the Thai agricultural workers lived in compounds on the outskirts of southern Israeli kibbutzim and towns, and Hamas militants overran those places first. A total of 46 Thais have been killed during the conflict, according to Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The retrieval of Mr Pinta's body comes as Israel continues its military campaign across Gaza. Hospital officials said they received the bodies of nearly two dozen people on Saturday. One strike hit a flat killing seven people, including a mother and five children. Their bodies were taken to Shifa hospital. Israel said on Saturday that it is responding to Hamas's 'barbaric attacks' and is dismantling its capabilities. It said it follows international law and takes all feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm.
RTÉ News
6 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Body of Thai hostage recovered from Gaza, Israel says
The Israeli military has retrieved the body of Thai hostage, Nattapong Pinta, who had been held in Gaza since Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, Defence Minister Israel Katz has said. Mr Pinta's body was held by a Palestinian militant group called the Mujahedeen Brigades, and was retrieved from the area of Rafah in southern Gaza, Mr Katz said. Mr Pinta, an agricultural worker, was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, a small community near the border, where one in four people was killed or taken hostage during the Hamas-led 2023 attack. The Israeli military alleges Mr Pinta had been abducted alive and killed by his captors, who had also killed and taken to Gaza the bodies of two more Israeli-American hostages that were retrieved this week. The military statement said Mr Pinta's family and Thai officials had been notified of the operation to recover his body. According to the Nir Oz community, 117 residents were killed and more than 60% of its houses destroyed during the attack. It comes after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted that Israel is supporting an armed group in Gaza that opposes the militant group Hamas, following comments by a former minister that Israel had transferred weapons to it. Israeli and Palestinian media have reported that the group Israel has been working with is part of a local Bedouin tribe led by Yasser Abu Shabab. The European Council on Foreign Relations (EFCR) think tank describes Abu Shabab as the leader of a "criminal gang operating in the Rafah area that is widely accused of looting aid trucks". Knesset member and ex-defence minister Avigdor Lieberman had told the Kan public broadcaster that the government, at Mr Netanyahu's direction, was "giving weapons to a group of criminals and felons". "What did Lieberman leak? ... That on the advice of security officials, we activated clans in Gaza that oppose Hamas. What is bad about that?" Mr Netanyahu said in a video posted to social media on Thursday. "It is only good, it is saving lives of Israeli soldiers." Michael Milshtein, an expert on Palestinian affairs at the Moshe Dayan Center in Tel Aviv, said that the Abu Shabab clan was part of a Bedouin tribe that spans across the border between Gaza and Egypt's Sinai peninsula. Some of the tribe's members, he said, were involved in "all kinds of criminal activities, drug smuggling, and things like that". Israeli army spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin confirmed the military supported arming local militias in Gaza but remained tight-lipped on the details. "I can say that we are operating in various ways against Hamas governance," Mr Defrin said during a televised press conference when questioned on the subject, without elaborating further.
