Netanyahu defends arming Palestinian clans accused of ties with jihadist groups
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has admitted arming clans in Gaza that he says are opposed to Hamas, after allegations that members of these criminal gangs looted humanitarian aid and have ties to jihadist groups.
The admission came after Israeli media reports quoted defence sources as saying Netanyahu had authorised giving weapons to a clan reportedly led by a man known as Yasser Abu Shabab, a Rafah resident from a Bedouin family, known locally for his involvement in criminal activity. Israel allegedly provided Abu Shabab's group, which calls itself the 'Anti-Terror Service', with Kalashnikov assault rifles, including weapons seized from Hamas.
'On the advice of security officials, we activated clans in Gaza that oppose Hamas. What's wrong with that?' Netanyahu said in a short video he posted on social media. 'It only saves the lives of Israeli solders, and publicising this only benefits Hamas.'
Strong criticism of the initiative has come from opposition parties in Israel. In a social media post on X, Yair Golan, the leader of the Democrats in the Knesset, said: 'Netanyahu is a threat to Israel's national security. Instead of bringing about a deal … bringing the hostages home and providing security for Israeli citizens, he is creating a new ticking timebomb in Gaza.'
Related: Israel accused of arming Palestinian gang who allegedly looted aid in Gaza
Palestinians in Gaza marked the start of Eid al-Adha, one of Islam's most important holidays, on Friday with prayers outside destroyed mosques and homes and food supplies dwindling. Food distribution points run by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation reopened on Friday before closing a few hours later.
Work at the sites was previously halted this week in response to a series of deadly shootings by Israeli soldiers that on Tuesday killed 27 Palestinians and injured hundreds as they were waiting for food. The UN says more than 2,700 children in Gaza are suffering from acute malnutrition.
Israeli jets meanwhile continued to pound the territory and, according to Gaza's civil defence agency, 38 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli military on Friday, including 11 in a single strike in the north. Israel said four soldiers were killed in combat.
On Thursday, after the allegations on arming Hamas-opposed clans in Gaza circulated in the media, Netanyahu's office said Israel 'was working to defeat Hamas through various means, based on the recommendations of all the heads of the security establishment'.
The former defence minister and opposition lawmaker Avigdor Lieberman alleged that Abu Shabab's group was affiliated with Islamic State. 'The Israeli government is giving weapons to a group of criminals and felons, identified with Islamic State, at the direction of the prime minister,' Lieberman, who heads the opposition Yisrael Beiteinu party, told Kan Bet public radio.
The basis for Lieberman's allegation of ties to IS was unclear. Abu Shabab's group has previously been accused of involvement in smuggling operations linked to Egyptian jihadi groups.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Abu Shabab's involvement with Israeli troops was confirmed last week through several videos circulating on social media in Gaza, showing him operating alongside Israeli soldiers in IDF-controlled areas.
Last week, Abu Shabab's family issued a statement disowning him, accusing him of collaborating with Israeli forces. 'We, like everyone else, were surprised by video footage broadcast by the resistance showing the involvement of Yasser's groups within a dangerous security framework, reaching the point of operating within undercover units and supporting the Zionist occupation forces, who are brutally killing our people,' the statement said.
'We affirm that we will not accept Yasser's return to the family. We have no objection to those around him liquidating him immediately, and we tell you that his blood is forfeit.'
On 28 May, Jonathan Whittall, the head of United Nations office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs in occupied Palestinian territories, said: 'The real theft of aid since the beginning of the war has been carried out by criminal gangs, under the watch of Israeli forces, and they were allowed to operate in proximity to the Kerem Shalom crossing point into Gaza.'
When contacted by the Guardian, Whittall confirmed he was 'referring to gangs such as Abu Shabab'.
On several posts on Facebook, reported by local media, Abu Shabab denied the allegations of looting, saying he was taking the goods only to feed himself and his family.
Coverage of the war in Gaza is constrained by Israeli attacks on Palestinian journalists and a bar on international reporters entering the Gaza Strip to report independently on the war.
Israel has not allowed foreign reporters to enter Gaza since 7 October 2023, unless they are under Israeli military escort. Reporters who join these trips have no control over where they go, and other restrictions include a bar on speaking to Palestinians in Gaza.
Palestinian journalists and media workers inside Gaza have paid a heavy price for their work reporting on the war, with over 180 killed since the conflict began.
The committee to protect journalists has determined that at least 19 of them 'were directly targeted by Israeli forces in killings which CPJ classifies as murders'.
Foreign reporters based in Israel filed a legal petition seeking access to Gaza, but it was rejected by the supreme court on security grounds. Private lobbying by diplomats and public appeals by prominent journalists and media outlets have been ignored by the Israeli government.
To ensure accurate reporting from Gaza given these restrictions, the Guardian works with trusted journalists on the ground; our visual teams verify photo and videos from third parties; and we use clearly sourced data from organisations that have a track record of providing accurate information in Gaza during past conflicts, or during other conflicts or humanitarian crises.
Emma Graham-Harrison, chief Middle East correspondent
Despite nationwide protests demanding a ceasefire deal and the release of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza after Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack, Netanyahu's coalition remains solid, buoyed up by the steadfast support of far-right parties.
That unity may soon be tested, however, after the ultra-Orthodox Shas party in Netanyahu's coalition announced it would support dissolving the Knesset.
The Shas party's decision comes after no significant progress in advancing a law in effect exempting ultra-Orthodox citizens from the military draft.
Israel has mandatory army service but for decades made an exemption for ultra-Orthodox Jews, also known as Haredi, who are allowed to continue full-time Torah study. But an alternative plan seeks to extend the duration of military service for conscripts and raise the age for reservists, while also urging an end to the customary exemptions granted to yeshiva students.
Due to the war in Gaza, the IDF is saying yeshiva students must be drafted, as it urgently needs an additional 10,000 combat soldiers and about 3,000 soldiers for other roles.
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