10 hours ago
Anti-Hamas gang leader Abu Shabab admits joining forces with Israeli army in Gaza
The leader of a well-armed Bedouin clan defying Hamas's control of the Gaza Strip has confirmed it is co-ordinating with the Israeli army in Rafah.
Yasser Abu Shabab gave an interview to the Israeli public broadcaster's Arabic-language radio station Makan, in which he said the objective of his Popular Forces group is to face up to "injustice and corruption".
He said of his group: "As long as the goal is support and assistance [from the Israeli military] and nothing more, when we go on a mission we inform them – nothing beyond that – and we carry out the military operations.
"There will be sacrifices and blood ... we are entering this project to free the people from their [Hamas's] injustice. We will not back down on this, no matter what the blood is."
The Popular Forces operates in the east of the southern Gaza city of Rafah in an area controlled by Israeli forces, as they battle Hamas in the territory.
Asked about the prospect of a ceasefire, Mr Abu Shabab said his group would continue their operations against Hamas even if a truce were reached.
"If a truce happens, we will proceed with our work, no matter the cost or blood," he said. "We do not oblige ourselves to a truce ... this is their [Hamas] affair with the Israeli army."
The Hamas -run Interior Ministry in Gaza has ordered Mr Abu Shabab to surrender and face trial, accusing him of treason. A ministry statement said the decision was taken by what it called a "Revolutionary Court".
It gave Mr Abu Shabab 10 days to surrender and urged Palestinians to inform Hamas security officials of his whereabouts.
The Abu Shabab group described the Hamas court's order as a "sitcom that doesn't frighten us, nor does it frighten any free man who loves his homeland and its dignity", in a post on the Facebook page that usually carried its announcements.
Hamas has accused Mr Abu Shabab and his gang of looting UN aid lorries, with Israel backing.
The European Council on Foreign Relations think tank describes Mr Abu Shabab as the leader of a "criminal gang operating in the Rafah area that is widely accused of looting aid trucks".
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has admitted Israel was supporting an armed group in Gaza that opposes the militant Hamas, following comments by a former minister that Israel was supplying a gang with arms.
Knesset member and former defence minister Avigdor Lieberman had said the government, at Mr Netanyahu's direction, was "giving weapons to a group of criminals and felons".
"What did Lieberman leak?" Mr Netanyahu said at the time. "That on the advice of security officials, we activated clans in Gaza that oppose Hamas.
