A Gazan spreads against Hamas, but his “popular forces” group opposes?
The demonstrators in Gaza target Hamas
For the first time since Hamas took power 18 years ago, Gazans talks about Hamas at a great personal risk, Mike Tobin from Fox News reports.
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As President Donald Trump I met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week, the question of who could govern Gaza if Hamas loses power is increasingly discussed. Among the emerging options are local clans and militia leaders.
One of those mentioned is Yaser Abu Shabab. Once imprisoned by Hamas for theft and corruption, he now commands groups of armed men in the Gaza Rafah which patrols and protects the convoys of help while openly contesting the power of Hamas. “We are not a militia,” he insisted in an interview with the Israeli point of sale Ynet. “Call us counter-terrorist forces. Our goal is to protect Palestinian human rights from Hamas terrorism.”
Abu Shabab’s group, known as “popular forces”, began to train in early 2024 after the FDI entered Rafah, and Hamas lost control of the region. Will save under Israeli protection, his men now escort aid trucks, distribute supplies and affirm the control of certain parts of eastern Rafah.
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Yaser Abu Shabab runs an anti-hamas militia in Gaza. (The Center for Peace Communications)
For Israel, Abu Shabab represents a test case. Can local players replace Hamas in Gaza – an enclave at a time?
Joseph Braude, president of the Center for Peace Communications, told Fox News Digital, “emerging enclaves like those of Abu Shabab could become elements constitutive of a post-hamas order. Whether they develop in the territories of the auto-rug or are then folded into greater governance authority, they are a necessary part of what came.”
The demonstrators gather against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. (Fox News)
He also rejected the allegations that Abu Shabab has links with the Islamic State. “It is a disinformation pushed by Hamas and repeated in the West,” said Braude. “His cousins in Sinai help Egypt fight the Islamic State. He is not part of this world.”
But others consider the emergence of Abu Shabab as a disturbing echo of past Israeli calculation errors.
Dr. Michael Mshshtein, chief of the forum for Palestinian studies at the University of Tel Aviv, told Fox News Digital: “It’s a bizarre gang. No ideology, no legitimacy – just a criminal group under Israeli protection.”
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Milshtein said that Israel’s support for the group includes Hamas captured weapons and the coordination of Palestinian officers based in Ramallah. “Hamas even pulled RPG on them during the ceasefire,” he said. “And Israel replied by hitting Hamas. It is clear that they are protected.”
The terrorists of Hamas out of the shadows while surrounding the vehicles of the Red Cross. A Palestinian was killed by Hamas terrorists after protesting the group, according to information. (Tps il)
Abu Shabab, who belongs to the influential clan of Tarabin Bedouin, says that his resistance started when he saw Hamas divert humanitarian aid. “I started seizing trucks and distributing food,” he told Ynet. “I became a man sought after by Hamas, but I fed children. My conscience is clear.”
Inside Gaza, the reactions are mixed. Some residents would follow Abu Shabab because they fear Hamas more than they trust him. Others, such as political analyst Mkhaimar Abusada, say that his support is shallow.
Yaser Abu Shabab with members of his militia. (The Center for Peace Communications)
“He was denied by his own tribe,” said Abusada, currently a guest researcher at the Northwestern University. “The Tarabin considers him as a collaborator. If Israel leaves Gaza, Abu Shabab will disappear – or will be driven by Hamas.”
In his Ynet interviewAbu Shabab said: “We will not leave the Gaza Strip and will continue to fight Hamas until the last one is dead”, and added that his group supports the return of Israeli hostages. “Hamas calls me a thief, a traitor, even Isis – all to scare people. But they are the ones who killed children, like the Bibas family. They live in tunnels. We have lost everything.”
In his Sunday interview, Abu Shabab denied any link with Israel. “We are people of peace and fraternity and do not want wars,” he said. “Our connection is with the Palestinian authority – that’s it.”
The Israeli hostages Averu Mengistu and Tal Shoham are flanked by Palestinian terrorists in Hamas while they stand on a stage during their release in Rafah in the Gaza Strip in the South on February 22. (Omar al-Qattaa / AFP via Getty Images)
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However, Milshtein considers the project as a short view. “There is no strategy here,” he said. “Just a tactical improvisation. The same people who did not prevent October 7 are now betting on someone like Abu Shabab. It is an illusion – and it’s dangerous.”
Braude said that Shabab is not an ideologist. “He’s a fighter, not a politician,” he said. “But if someone like him can hold a territory while the professionals inside build a civil administration, then it is a significant precedent.”
Fox News Digital contacted the FDI and the Israeli government to comment on the allegations it was funding and protected Abu Shabab and its militia.
