Netanyahu admits funding gangs in Gaza accused of stealing aid
Netanyahu admits funding gangs in Gaza accused of stealing aid
The gangs are reportedly linked to ISIS
The gangs are reportedly linked to ISIS
Palestinian women rush to receive food aid at the Nuseirat Refugee Camp in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. [Moiz Salhi/Anadolu via Getty Images]
Palestinian women rush to receive food aid at the Nuseirat Refugee Camp in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. [Moiz Salhi/Anadolu via Getty Images]
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted Thursday that his government has supported armed clans in the Gaza Strip—groups that aid organizations and media reports have accused of stealing humanitarian supplies from Palestinian civilians.
“We made use of clans in Gaza that are opposed to Hamas… What’s wrong with that?” Netanyahu said in a video posted on X.
It came just hours after former Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, a member of the opposition Yisrael Beiteinu party, accused Netanyahu on Israeli radio of arming “criminals and felons” with ties to the 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 said.
The primary group allegedly receiving support has been identified in multiple reports as the so-called “Anti-Terror Service,” composed of roughly 100 men and led by Yasser Abu Shabab, a Bedouin from Rafah.
However, the Associated Press referred to the same group as the “Popular Forces,” citing an Israeli defense official.
On Thursday, Middle East Eye reported that Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent Anas al-Sharif previously revealed in May that some Palestinians in Gaza were forced to defend shops and bakeries from gangs, only to be attacked by Israeli forces as a result.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted Thursday that his government has supported armed clans in the Gaza Strip—groups that aid organizations and media reports have accused of stealing humanitarian supplies from Palestinian civilians.
“We made use of clans in Gaza that are opposed to Hamas… What’s wrong with that?” Netanyahu said in a video posted on X.
It came just hours after former Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, a member of the opposition Yisrael Beiteinu party, accused Netanyahu on Israeli radio of arming “criminals and felons” with ties to the 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 said.
The primary group allegedly receiving support has been identified in multiple reports as the so-called “Anti-Terror Service,” composed of roughly 100 men and led by Yasser Abu Shabab, a Bedouin from Rafah.
However, the Associated Press referred to the same group as the “Popular Forces,” citing an Israeli defense official.
On Thursday, Middle East Eye reported that Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent Anas al-Sharif previously revealed in May that some Palestinians in Gaza were forced to defend shops and bakeries from gangs, only to be attacked by Israeli forces as a result.
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