George Galloway visits Moscow after picking up Hamas award
George Galloway has appeared in Moscow for Vladimir Putin's Victory Day celebrations, days after flying to Iran to collect an award named after a dead Hamas leader.
The leader of the hard-Left Workers Party of Britain travelled to Tehran this week to collect an award in honour of Ismail Haniyeh, the assassinated political leader of Hamas, whom the former MP praised as a 'martyr'.
He boasted during the visit that his most 'treasured' possession was Haniyeh's passport.
Mr Galloway, 70, then travelled to Russia, where he witnessed Putin's military show of strength, which he said was 'moving, emotional, inspiring, humbling'.
He was given the special Martyr Ismail Haniyeh award at a media festival in the Iranian capital.
Haniyeh was the political leader of the terror group at the time of the October 7 attacks on Israel. The International Criminal Court (ICC) intended to apply for a warrant for his arrest for war crimes and crimes against humanity, but the proceedings were dropped following Haniyeh's assassination in Tehran, which has been blamed on Israel.
Elected as the head of Hamas's political bureau in 2017, Haniyeh was accused by Karim Khan, the ICC prosecutor, of being 'criminally responsible for the killing of hundreds of Israeli civilians in attacks perpetrated by Hamas, in particular its military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, and other armed groups on 7 October 2023'.
At the ceremony, Mr Galloway said in his acceptance speech, captured on video and posted online: 'I am honoured to receive this award. I actually hold in my safe the passport of the martyr Ismail Haniyeh because when we arrived with one of our convoys to break the siege on Gaza [in 2009], he had promised me a Palestinian passport but they had run out of Palestinian passports. So he gave me his own personal passport and it is one of my most treasured possessions.'
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In short, over the course of these past months Israel has been arming criminal gangs that loot aid convoys and are led by a known thief and drug trafficker with links to the terrorist Islamic State group (ISIS). The Shin Bet, which Zini is about to head up, has it seems been at the forefront of such a strategy and under his leadership few doubt things will change. Why should they change ask critics, when the man who appointed him, Netanyahu, appears only too happy to confirm the measures? 'Israel is working to defeat Hamas in various ways, on the recommendation of all heads of the security establishment,' Netanyahu's office declared last week as the reports surfaced. Hours later Netanyahu himself doubled down on the statement his tone almost one of nonchalance and disregard. 'We made use of clans in Gaza that are opposed to Hamas… What's wrong with that?' Netanyahu said in a video posted on X. "It's only good. It saves the lives of Israeli soldiers,' he then added. But according to some observers, both inside Israel itself and beyond, there is a lot to be concerned about regarding such a strategy. Trucks carrying aid wait in front of the Rafah border crossing on March 2, 2025 in Rafah, Egypt Policy condemned Among those Israeli voices condemning the policy was former Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman now leader of Israel's right-wing opposition Yisrael Beiteibu party. 'The Israeli government is giving weapons to a group of criminals and felons, identified with Islamic State, at the direction of the prime minister…it's total madness,' Lieberman said in a radio interview, while also adding that Shin Bet were aware of the weapons transfers. Lieberman's concerns are based primarily on the fact that with no way of monitoring or following where such weapons end up, there is no guarantee they will not be directed at Israel It's a view shared by many. 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Among those identified was an armed gang led by a man named Yasser Abu Shabab, a thief and drug trafficker from the southern Gaza town of Rafah. Some reports suggest that Abu Shabab was previously jailed by Hamas for smuggling drugs, and that his brother was killed by Hamas when the group cracked down on attacks on UN aid convoys. Abu Shabab is descended from the influential Bedouin Tarabin clan, which spans southern Gaza, the Sinai, and the Naqab Desert. The area between Gaza and Sinai is known for drug smuggling and Abu Shabab's group has previously been accused of involvement in smuggling operations linked to Egyptian jihadi groups, hence Avigdor Lieberman's claims of his connection to ISIS which has a presence in the area and is known to be involved in the drug networks. Calling itself both the 'Anti-Terror Service or 'Popular Forces,' Abu Shabab's group, is believed to comprise a relatively small number of members, perhaps in the hundreds. But despite its diminutive size Israel saw it as an opportunity to help undermine Hamas. It's incorporation into such a strategy say analysts also underscored Netanyahu's uncertainty on who should take over the future administration of Gaza. 'If you think about who really can be an alternative to Hamas in Gaza, you have two options: either an Israeli military administration or the Palestinian Authority,' said Brig. Gen. Shlomo Brom, a former top Israeli military strategist, now retired. Speaking to the New York Times (NYT) Brom explained how Netanyahu does not want either because a full occupation of Gaza would be costly, financially and politically, for Israel. 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One internal United Nations memo seen by The Washington Post concluded that the gangs 'may be benefiting from a passive if not active benevolence' or 'protection' from the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). One gang leader, the memo said, established a 'military like compound' in an area 'restricted, controlled and patrolled by the IDF.' That leader was Abu Shabab. Throughout this time Israeli, Palestinian and international observers have insisted that the gang's activity could simply not operate without the awareness of the IDF. 'There is no chance an armed militia or clan can work out in the open like this without Israel's agreement, and definitely not in Rafah,' said Michael Milshtein, a former senior Israeli military intelligence officer, in an interview with the Financial Times ( FT). Following last week's admission from Netanyahu that Israel was arming Abu Shabab's gang, the official page of the 'Popular Forces' media office, issued a statement continuing to deny any connection with the Israeli army. 'We wholly reject these allegations,' the statement read. 'We regard this as a blatant attempt at distorting the image of a popular force that was born out of suffering and in the face of oppression, theft, and corruption.' But as the specialist Middle East website Mondoweiss, highlighted in an online article last Friday, 'analysts have continued to point out that Abu Shabab's carefully curated social media presence, with the appearance of statements in both English and Arabic, is beyond the capabilities of the Gaza gang and is likely the work of the Shin Bet.' In a video posted last Wednesday, Abu Shabab can be heard calling on people from eastern Rafah to return to their homes, saying that food, medicine and shelter would be provided. The footage features images of several tents that appeared to have been erected in the area. Mondoweiss also cited Muhammad Shehadeh, a writer and civil society activist from Gaza, as saying that today Abu Shabab 'works in his new capacity as the head of his rebranded 'national force' of gang members to loot aid under the Israeli military's protection, carry out surveillance of resistance forces on its behalf, and secure aid going to the murky US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF), which is the US contractor tasked with delivering aid to Palestinians instead of the UN. Palestinian boys carry pots as the queue at a hot meal distribution point in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, June 4, 2025 Handing out aid Israel has sought to overhaul aid distribution, backing the controversial GHF private scheme to hand out aid under the supervision of security contractors and Israeli soldiers. The Israelis insist the new system is vital to ensure Hamas is unable to benefit from aid that would help support its continued resistance. But UN officials and others have refused to participate in the scheme, calling it a 'weaponisation' of aid and saying they have not seen evidence of systematic diversion by Hamas. In fact Hamas itself has now upped its crackdown on Abu Shabab's gangs. In its recent coverage, Mondoweiss detailed how Hamas has set up what has been dubbed the Arrow Unit. The unit was first formed over a year ago in March 2024, when the phenomenon of looting by armed gangs began to spread throughout Gaza and began as informal groups of young men. Abu Hadi, a member of the Arrow Unit who is also an officer in the Gaza police force, told Mondoweiss that he decided to join the unit after 'witnessing thieves robbing food stores and international kitchens, without concern for the people's hunger.' Since then the Arrow Unit has conducted operations going head on with Abu Shabab's gangs who Hamas identifies as collaborators with the Israelis. In last Wednesday's video by Abu Shabab, he can be heard saying that that the 'Popular Forces' are working under 'Palestinian legitimacy,' a phrase that Palestinian Authority (PA) leaders often use to refer to their government. The Palestinian Authority, the West Bank-based rival of Hamas, has declined to comment on reports of connections between Abu Shabab and its government, yet another reminder of the power vacuum that exists in Gaza. The obvious threat posed to Gazans aside, Israel's attempts to exploit this security vacuum it created by backing Abu Shabab's gangs as an alternative to Hamas rule is a tactic not without precedent. Always in the past too, this has only served to make an already dire situation in Gaza even worse. Critics of Israel's policy say what is unfolding on the ground in this collaboration between Shin Bet, the IDF and the gangs points to a nefarious longer term scheme, used to push Israel's starvation, ethnic cleansing and genocide policies. They remind also of the danger of creating a Frankenstein monster type militia in the region. Larger territory Last week Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid responded to the claim that Israel is arming Abu Shabab with a warning that it could see a repeat of a grim history for the country. He reminded that for decades, including multiple terms in office for Netanyahu, Israel allowed Hamas to grow as a counter to rivals Fatah, allowing Hamas to entrench its control in Gaza. It was seen as a cynical bid to prevent a unified Palestinian leadership from taking hold in Gaza and the much larger territory of the West Bank. "After Netanyahu finished giving millions of dollars to Hamas, he moved on to giving weapons to organisations close to ISIS in Gaza, all off the cuff, all without strategic planning, all leading to more disasters,' Lapid warned on social media. His views were echoed by a recent editorial in the Israeli daily Haaretz. 'Instead of any serious discussion about reconstruction and the enclave's future, Netanyahu is advancing a messianic vision that includes crimes against humanity in the form of ethnic cleansing and population transfer,' observed the newspaper. In advancing that 'messianic vision' Israel's arming of gangs in Gaza will doubtless go on. Netanyahu after all now has his chosen head of Shin Bet, David Zini, to implement that vision, and he too by his own admission is "messianic".
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Ukraine drones attack on Moscow forces airport closure, Russia says
June 8 (Reuters) - A Ukrainian drone attack targeting Moscow forced the closure of two of the key airports serving the capital, Russian authorities said early on Sunday. Russia air defence units destroyed nine Ukrainian drones heading towards Moscow by 0400 GMT, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on the Telegram messaging app. Emergency services were dispatched to the sites where drone debris fell in the overnight attack, Sobyanin said. He did not report any immediate damage. A Ukrainian drone attack also sparked a short-lived fire at the Azot chemical plant in the Tula region, injuring two people, and seven drones were destroyed over the Kaluga region, regional governors said. Both regions border the Moscow region to the south of the capital. Reuters could not independently verify the reports. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine. Russia's civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia said on Telegram that to ensure air safety it was halting flights at the Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports. Russia and Ukraine have increased their attacks in recent weeks while also returning to peace talks for the first time since the early days of the war that Russia launched against Ukraine in February 2022.
