Palestinian resistance factions have condemned the leader of an Israel-backed armed gang in Gaza, accusing them of operating to protect the occupation’s interests.
The Joint Room for Palestinian Resistance Factions, otherwise known as the Palestinian Joint Operations Room, described Yasser Abu Shabab as a “traitor for hire” in a statement on Sunday.
“The mercenary traitor called Yasser Abu Shabab and his gang are a group outside the ranks of our homeland. They are completely stripped of their Palestinian identity, and their blood is forfeited by all our resistance factions,” the statement read.
The factions said that amid the wide-scale starvation in the besieged enclave, the Popular Forces – lead by 35-year-old Abu Shabab – are a “traitorous group that refuses to do anything but serve as a tool in the hands of the usurping occupier”.
The Joint Operations Room added that the gang operates under the protection and supervision of the Israeli military.
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“His forces are shunned by all our dear, free people. We will show no mercy to any of them. Or those who follow their path of aiding the occupation, and we will deal with them in a manner befitting traitors and agents,” they stressed.
“The fate of these traitors is the dustbin of history, in addition to the stigma of shame and disgrace before God, their people, and their nation.”
The Joint Room’s statement followed an alleged interview with Abu Shabab on Makan, Israel’s official Arabic-language radio station. In the interview, he reportedly claimed that his armed militia operates “with ease” in areas controlled by the Israeli military.
He allegedly suggested that his group is cooperating with the Israeli army, informing them about upcoming operations, and receiving “external support”.
The 35-year-old gang leader later denied participating in the Makan interview or any others with Israeli media, in a statement to Yedioth Ahronoth (Ynet), an Israeli daily.
“I was shocked to see quotes from an interview I never gave, which were falsely attributed to me,” he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously admitted to arming Abu Shabab’s gang.
Last week, Hamas gave Abu Shabab 10 days to surrender, accusing him of involvement in the theft of aid deliveries.
Palestinian Authority backing
In his interview with Ynet, Abu Shabab stressed that the Popular Forces were not a “militia” but rather an “anti-terror group in the Gaza Strip.”
“What didn’t Hamas say about me… A criminal, a thief, an ISIS member, all to scare people away from me, but it didn’t work. Does someone who kidnaps and kills children like the Bibas family even have the legitimacy to define or judge others? These are vile, miserable subhumans whose end is near,” he said.
According to Ynet, Abu Shabab returned to Gaza from Sinai two months before the Hamas-led 7 October attack. He was arrested by Palestinian forces on criminal charges but fled after the war following Israeli strikes on Gaza’s prisons.
The gang leader revealed that before the war he sought to make contact with people within the Palestinian Authority (PA) as a result of his feud with Hamas.
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He added that Mahmoud al-Hashash, an advisor to PA President Mahmoud Abbas, was the first to support and respond to his request.
“That is why I decided, with the support of the Palestinian Authority, to take action and establish the Abu Shabab group.”
Despite reports and statements about the gang’s connection to Israel, Abu Shabaab claims that they are a “people of peace and brotherhood and do not want wars,” adding that “our connection is with the Palestinian Authority, that’s all.”
Last month, it was revealed that Israel had armed and financed the Abu Shabab gang, in what appeared to be an Israeli strategy to foster instability in the besieged Gaza Strip.
Following public exposure of Israel’s links to the gang, Netanyahu defended the move.
“We made use of clans in Gaza that are opposed to Hamas… What’s wrong with that?” he said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). “It’s only good. It saves the lives of Israeli soldiers.”
The Abu Shabab gang has also been linked to the widely criticised aid scheme operated by the Israeli- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which began limited food distribution in late May.
