‘What’s bad about that?’: Netanyahu admits Israel supported armed Gaza group opposing Hamas, sparks controversy

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has acknowledged that Israel is backing an armed faction in Gaza that opposes Hamas, amid widespread criticism and warnings from security experts about empowering what has been described as a criminal gang.

His remarks follow claims by former defence minister Avigdor Liberman that weapons were transferred to the group at Netanyahu’s direction.“What did Liberman leak? That security sources activated a clan in Gaza that opposes Hamas? What is bad about that?” Netanyahu said in a video posted Thursday. “It is only good, it is saving the lives of Israeli soldiers.”According to news agency AFP, the group in question is linked to a local Bedouin tribe in Rafah and led by Yasser Abu Shabab, described by the European Council on Foreign Relations as heading a “criminal gang” accused of looting aid trucks. The ECFR also said Hamas had previously jailed Abu Shabab for drug smuggling.Israeli and Palestinian media have reported that this group, calling itself the Popular Forces, has received weapons, money and shelter from Israeli security forces. Hamas recently claimed that the group had “chosen betrayal and theft as their path” and accused them of working in coordination with the Israeli army to loot humanitarian aid and fabricate crises in Gaza.

Michael Milshtein, a Palestinian affairs expert at Tel Aviv’s Moshe Dayan Center, was quoted by news agency AFP as saying that the Israeli decision to support Abu Shabab’s group “was a fantasy” and warned, “I really hope it will not end with catastrophe.”The controversy comes at a time of deepening crisis in Gaza. Palestinians marked Eid al-Adha amid destroyed homes, with prayers held in the rubble of collapsed mosques and widespread food shortages.

“There is no food, no flour, no shelter, no mosques, no homes,” said Kamel Emran in Khan Younis. “This is the worst feast that the Palestinian people have experienced.”Israel launched its offensive in Gaza following the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack that killed around 1,200 people in Israel. Since then, more than 54,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed, according to Gaza’s health ministry. Around 90% of Gaza’s population has been displaced, and the United Nations warns that the entire territory is at risk of famine.In response to aid looting and distribution challenges, Israel had backed the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a new group of largely American contractors, as an alternative to the UN. However, amid rising violence, all its centres were shut on Friday. The Foundation urged residents to stay away from distribution points until further notice.The Popular Forces, in a Facebook statement, denied collaborating with Israel. “Our weapons are simple, outdated, and came through the support of our own people,” it claimed. Despite this, four of its members were reportedly killed by Hamas in recent days, with local tribal leaders labelling Abu Shabab a “collaborator and gangster.”As per AFP, Netanyahu’s decision has triggered serious concerns among Israeli analysts and critics who fear the move could destabilise the region further. “The Shabak or the military thought it was a wonderful idea to turn this militia, gang actually, into a proxy,” Milshtein said.