These “Popular Forces” are a collection of murderers, rapists, drug traffickers, and Takfiri terrorists who once belonged to al-Qaeda and ISIS branch groups.
As Israel launches its ground invasion of Gaza City for yet another time, it is now using another tactic to implement its genocidal policies: collaborators. Under the guise of an opposition group calling itself the “Popular Forces”, Israel is sending ISIS and Al-Qaeda linked militants on missions against Hamas and civilians alike.
The issue of Israeli armed and backed collaborator gangs in the Gaza Strip has been an ongoing issue for over a year now, as they are used to fight against Hamas and loot aid. However, a bombshell article published by the Israeli daily, Haaretz, is the first of its kind to quote soldiers and officers on the true extent of the gang activity.
The so-called “Popular Forces” in the Gaza Strip, led by ISIS-linked drug trafficker Yasser Abu Shabab, are now working directly alongside the Israeli military and are carrying out “major operations” against the Palestinian resistance groups inside the besieged coastal territory.
Talking to Haaretz about the matter, an Israeli commander stated that “it reminds me of Sabra and Shatila”, equating the so-called Popular Forces with the Kataeb fascist forces that Israel had backed in Lebanon to carry out the slaughter of thousands of defenseless Palestinian refugees in 1982.
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The soldiers speaking to the Israeli news outlet did so out of concern for the consequences of backing this fanatical band of criminals and Salafist militants, expressing fear that Israeli officers who give them orders will be blamed if the gangsters end up committing large civilian massacres. Those commanders and soldiers speaking to Haaretz were reportedly in agreement that the collaborator militia forces are not fully controllable.
This strategy is also not new for the Israeli army. As mentioned above, they supported Lebanese fascist militias during Lebanon’s civil war and used them against Palestinians and Leftist groups inside the country.
Another arena where the Israelis have employed a similar strategy is in Syria, where they began backing some dozen al-Qaeda linked groups back in 2013. One of the groups they supported was Jabhat al-Nusra, now known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, whose leader, Ahmad Al-Shara’a, is now Syria’s President. Al-Nusra was receiving support from Israel at a time when it had allied itself with ISIS, and would go on to commit horrific civilian massacres, especially against minority groups.
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According to Reuters, Israel is now directly funding 3,000 Druze separatist fighters in the Sweida Province of southern Syria. These Druze forces were revealed to have set up a joint operations room with the Israeli military during their clash with Bedouin Clans and government forces earlier this July. Bear in mind that these Druze militants were also accused of committing heinous crimes against Bedouin civilians and seeking to purge them from their villages.
In Gaza, the strategy is very similar, except even more insidious, considering the circumstances. What’s more is that Western corporate media have collaborated with these ISIS-linked militants to promote their fictitious narrative that they are a grassroots movement against Hamas.
These “Popular Forces” are a collection of murderers, rapists, drug traffickers, and Takfiri terrorists who once belonged to al-Qaeda and ISIS branch groups. In addition to this, some of these gangsters are corrupt militants who formerly worked for the Palestinian Authority Security Forces.
How were these collaborator criminal gangs created?
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The first step was that the Israelis strategically bombed all of Gaza’s jails and police stations, allowing proven criminals to roam free. This allowed the “Popular Forces” leader, Yasser Abu Shabab, to escape, along with most of those who now fill his ranks.
Understanding this is crucial, as they were all outlaws and traitors to their own society to begin with, considered as such by the majority of the population. Even staunch Fatah supporters who despise Hamas label these criminals as traitors, making them the opposite of “Popular Forces”; they are the most unpopular group amongst Palestinians. There would be more support in Gaza for an Israeli occupation than for being ruled by these criminals.
However, in the Western media, these gangsters are presented as a genuine opposition force, unchallenged. Take, for example, an article published by the Wall Street Journal on July 24, entitled “Gazans Are Finished With Hamas”, purportedly written by Abu Shabab.
What is so outrageous about the WSJ article is not only that they gave an op-ed to an ISIS-linked militant who is responsible for looting aid from civilians, but that Abu Shabab does not even speak English. Some would then argue that he must have written it in Arabic and coordinated with the WSJ, which would be problematic enough, as he would be incapable of knowing whether his words were accurately captured. However, that isn’t possible either, as he is illiterate in Arabic, too.
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Contrary to the ridiculous propaganda of Western corporate media, giving an unchallenged platform to an Israeli-backed ISIS-affiliated gangster, Abu Shabab’s rise to power was carefully calibrated to aid in the genocide of the Palestinian civilian population of Gaza.
After Israel had freed these militants, it had tried several times to use different groups to loot aid and fight against Hamas, but had largely failed to develop an effective strategy. Then came the invasion of Rafah on May 6, 2024, where the Israelis seized the crossing point with Egypt.
Upon Israel’s seizure of Rafah, it began properly cultivating Abu Shabab’s militia forces in south-east Gaza, inside a zone completely under Israeli military control. These militants would then loot aid trucks, store it in warehouses under the watchful eye of the Israeli military, then drip-feed it onto the black market at exorbitant prices, so the poorest Gazans were starved.
The humanitarian aid organisations were forced to pay $4,000 per aid truck, so that they weren’t looted by Abu Shabab’s criminal gangs. Sometimes, these trucks would still be looted anyway; however, there was nothing anyone could do to stop them.
This sadistic strategy allowed for the Israelis to claim the aid was being looted, not by Abu Shabab’s men under their watch, however, but by Hamas. The United Nations had named Abu Shabab as the leader of these gangs in an internal memo last year, before the gang leader himself confessed to looting aid himself. Yet, Abu Shabab tried to spin it as if he did so out of necessity, a proven lie.
Following the Israeli violation of the ceasefire in March, Abu Shabab’s ISIS-linked militia emerged with new branding. Photos emerged of his gangsters wearing Israeli military-supplied tactical vests, automatic weapons, and helmets, sporting Palestinian patches.
Their role began evolving at this stage; they were now coordinating with the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation program and were set to be tasked with ruling a fenced-off concentration camp for the Gazan civilian population. Meanwhile, they were still looting aid and influencing the black market.
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Simultaneously, they were being sent in to conduct military operations deemed too dangerous for Israeli soldiers who hide in fortified areas and heavily armoured vehicles. The more daring reconnaissance and now even combat missions are being handed off to Abu Shabab’s fanatical militants, used as pawns for the Israeli military, and to help lower Israeli soldier casualties.
These ISIS-linked Israeli proxies, masquerading as a legitimate opposition, operate primarily in Rafah and Khan Younis, yet have even been reported to harass, rob, assault, and open fire on civilians around the Mawasi area. Several reports have also indicated they have raided hospitals and stolen supplies.
Now, according to a new report in Israel Hayom, the Israelis are trying to repeat this model in northern Gaza’s Shujaiyeh neighbourhood, where Hussam Abdel Majid al-Astal, an ex-Palestinian Authority Security Force officer, is tasked with heading another anti-Hamas gang in the north.
These Palestinian collaborators are directly under Israeli control, as confirmed by Haaretz news. They are also funded and armed by the Israelis, as per the admission of Benjamin Netanyahu himself.
While Hamas has historically fought battles against Al-Qaeda and ISIS in Gaza, crushing their criminal networks, the Israelis are openly backing these hardline militants, along with their drug-lord companions.
In response, Hamas has deployed what it calls its Arrow Force, which is a collection of Gaza’s former police and security forces, who are hunting down these collaborators where they can. When these gangsters are captured, they are executed and sometimes beaten first; the videos of which are used by propagandists to claim Hamas is torturing civilians.
If a ceasefire is reached, these so-called “Popular Forces” will have two options: flee to the Sinai or face execution.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
– Robert Inlakesh is a journalist, writer, and documentary filmmaker. He focuses on the Middle East, specializing in Palestine. He contributed this article to The Palestine Chronicle.
Two names I keep seeing: “ISIS” and “Salafist”.
Could you please tell us how Abu Shabab – who I always thought was a drug-dealer – is identified with these things?
Because Abu Shabab is a criminal. These are synonymous: ISIS, Salafist, drug-dealer, criminal. Plus Zionist collaborator, traitor to Palestinians, satanist – the list goes on.
Yes, he is a criminal and a traitor. But do you think it’s intellectually honest to lump those with Salafist? While this term has been thrown around a lot in the Western media, much of the Muslim world is Salafi (in Arabic). At its base, a Salafi is a Muslim who follows the teachings of the Qur’an and the Sunnah according to the understanding of the first three generations (salaf) of the community. Abu Shabab doesn’t strike me as a particularly adherent guy, so I don’t think it’s reasonable to call him that. BTW, ISIS might be better understood as “khariji” rather than “salafi”.
When negotiators or mediators are targeted, it is a clear signal that the party so targeting is not interested in negotiations. This should have been clear from Ismail Haniyeh’s assassination, if not earlier. There is only one language the aggressors know and understand. It is very important that especially the Global South come together and respond thoroughly and completely so that no opportunity will exist for further aggression or expansion. There is no other way for world peace and prosperity, at least for future generations.
Agree! I hope the Arab League – especially since the Qatar attack (a US base is no defense) – are furiously arguing about this. Many of these Arab League members supported these Zionist/ISIS monsters. Emboldened since the sack of Syria, “Israel” can unleash their monster on any of them.