فاس نيوز ميديا جريدة الكترونية جهوية تعنى بشؤون و أخبار جهة فاس مكناس – متجددة على مدار الساعة
The leader of a Palestinian armed group opposed to Hamas admitted on Sunday, in an interview broadcast by an Israeli radio station, to cooperating with the Israeli army to carry out operations in southern Gaza Strip.
This area witnessed a 21-month-long war between Israel and Hamas, which erupted following an unprecedented attack launched by the Islamic movement on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Yasser Abu Shabab, the leader of the armed group, claimed that he is able to move “freely” in areas under Israeli military control, and that he communicates with the Israeli army prior to his group’s operations. In the interview with the Arabic-language Israeli public radio station “Kan,” he said: “We keep them informed only, but we carry out the military operations on our own.”
Abu Shabab also stated that his group receives “logistical and financial support from several parties,” without explicitly mentioning Israel, adding: “There are matters we cannot discuss publicly.”
In June, Israeli authorities acknowledged supporting and arming a Palestinian clan opposed to Hamas, without directly naming the group led by Abu Shabab. Israeli army spokeswoman Avichay Deferin said, “We take measures in various ways against the Hamas government.”
The European Council on Foreign Relations describes Abu Shabab as the leader of a “criminal gang” operating in Rafah, a town on the border between Gaza and Egypt, and accuses him of looting humanitarian aid trucks in Gaza.
In the interview, Abu Shabab asserted that his group “does not belong to any ideology or political organization,” and that it fights against what he called the “injustice” and “corruption” of Hamas, which seized power in Gaza in 2007. He added: “We will continue the struggle no matter how much blood is shed. Hamas is now dying; they know their end is near.”
A military court affiliated with Hamas had given Abu Shabab ten days, as of Wednesday, to surrender himself for trial.
Meanwhile, a coalition of several Palestinian factions accused his militia, known as the “Popular Forces,” on Sunday of “blatant collaboration with the enemy.”
In a statement, the coalition said: “They are rejected by all our people, and we will not tolerate them, nor will we tolerate anyone who follows in their footsteps in aiding the occupation. They will be dealt with as they deserve — traitors and collaborators.”
