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France 24
27 minutes ago
- France 24
US sanctions UN human rights expert conducting probe on Israel war crimes in Gaza
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Euronews
39 minutes ago
- Euronews
Exclusive: New militia emerges in Gaza to challenge Hamas' control
A 300-member-strong Palestinian militia has emerged in Gaza, aiming to liberate the Strip from Hamas — and now it says it has the backing of Israel. The group, calling itself the Popular Forces, operates in eastern Rafah under the leadership of Yasser Abu Shabab, a Bedouin man in his thirties who spent years in Hamas detention for criminal activities before the 7 October attacks freed him from prison. According to comments made exclusively to Euronews, Abu Shabab's group — not to be confused with Somalia's Islamist extremists, Al-Shabaab — first banded together in June 2024. The Popular Forces, who also go by the moniker Anti-Terror Service, describe themselves as "volunteers from among the people" who protect humanitarian aid from "looting, corruption and organised theft" by Hamas-affiliated groups. "We are not professional fighters, nor are we a militia, as we do not engage in guerrilla warfare tactics," the group said in a statement to Euronews. Hamas has responded with direct assassinations against Popular Forces members, going on a show of force against potential rival organisations despite months of Israeli military strikes. "Hamas has killed over 50 of our volunteers, including members of Commander Yasser's family, while we were guarding aid convoys," the Popular Forces spokesperson said. Earlier, Hamas firmly rejected allegations of war profiteering and humanitarian aid theft, also levelled at them by Israel — something the Popular Forces insist is in fact still happening. Meanwhile, Yasser Abu Shabab himself revealed his group is 'coordinating' with the Israeli army in Rafah. In an interview on Sunday with Israeli public broadcaster KAN's Arabic-language radio, Abu Shabab said his group is cooperating with Israel on 'support and assistance' but not 'military actions,' which he explained were conducted solely by his group. While the Popular Forces have since denied that Abu Shabab gave the interview to KAN altogether after coming under fire from critics in Gaza, the arrangement would represent Israel's latest attempt to cultivate local partners who might challenge Hamas' control of Gaza. A broader coalition, including the Palestinian Authority (PA), Egypt, the UAE and the US, is reportedly involved in seeking alternatives to Hamas rule. But not everyone is convinced this strategy is bulletproof. "These popular forces are a two-edged sword," Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, Jerusalem's deputy mayor and Foreign Ministry special envoy, told Euronews. "We're not talking about peace-loving democrats. We're talking about gangs who've had enough of the biggest gang of all, which is Hamas." Although wary of Abu Shabab, Hassan-Nahoum also acknowledged Israel has little choice. "There were two Gazas," she explained. "There was the Gaza of Hamas ... and then there was the second Gaza of the disenfranchised people who weren't part of Hamas." And some among the disenfranchised have simply reached a breaking point, Hassan-Nahoum said. "These gangs, I believe, have just gotten to the point where they feel that Hamas is weak, and obviously, they've created the biggest catastrophe for the Gaza Strip in history." Syria's Ahmed al-Sharaa, who transitioned from al-Qaeda affiliate leader and wanted terrorist under the nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Julani to a legitimate political role as the country's leader, was an example where the 180-degree turn could work despite scepticism, Hassan-Nahoum added. "Al-Jolani in Syria was also running a gang (...) and look, he's stepping up. So you don't know who could step up out of these gangs." 'Imagine Pablo Escobar as president of Colombia' Rami Abou Jamous, a Gaza-based journalist who previously worked for France 24 before establishing GazaPress, vehemently disagrees. According to him, Abu Shabab is no al-Sharaa — and in the context of the Strip, the militia leader's claims should be taken with a grain of salt. Despite his own strong critique of Hamas, Abou Jamous did not see the Popular Forces' leader as viable or credible alternative. 'Imagine if Pablo Escobar became the president of Colombia. That's exactly what this is: a drug trafficker collaborating with an occupying army against his own people,' Abou Jamous told Euronews. Yasser Abu Shabab has long faced accusations by members of his own family — including one who was once part of his group — that he was involved in smuggling cigarettes and drugs from Egypt and Israel into Gaza through crossings and tunnels before the war. He had been in prison on trafficking charges on 7 October, but was freed along with most other inmates when the war began in October 2023, an anonymous relative told international outlets. While Abu Shabab now presents himself as a leader of an ever-growing cohort working in the interest of ordinary Palestinians, Abou Jamous contends that, 'we shouldn't really call them a 'force'.' 'It's a few dozen people from a clan called Asalamu Alaykum, originally involved in diverting humanitarian aid,' he explained. 'He claims to be protecting (aid) trucks or the UN, but that's like someone filming in his own house and saying he's protecting his dog — if the dog leaves, he can do nothing.' 'What he's doing now is propaganda — a bubble created for international consumption,' Abou Jamous, who recently won three awards at the prestigious Bayeux Calvados-Normandie Prize for his reporting from Gaza, concluded. 'In retrospect, we see that it was a huge mistake' Israeli military and intelligence veterans expressed sharp criticism of the strategy, which has previously created stronger adversaries. Guy Aviad, a former IDF military historian and Hamas expert, pointed to Israel's support for Christian militias in Lebanon, which backfired and ended up with 18 years of Israeli military involvement in the country's south. "We helped them a lot against the PLO in Lebanon. But they dragged us into their own country," he told Euronews, describing the period from 1982 to 2000 as marked by "a lot of bloodshed in the Lebanon area." Then there was Israel's tacit support for the Muslim Brotherhood in Gaza during the 1980s, intended to counter the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) – whose militant wing conducted acts of violence against the Israeli army and civilians at the time – but ultimately gave rise to Hamas itself. "Israel thought at the time that the main adversary in the Gaza Strip was, of course, the PLO, so they tried to strengthen the force of the Muslim Brotherhood," Aviad explained. "But of course, in retrospect, we see that it was a huge mistake." "I think the security services and also the Israeli government didn't know military history enough," Aviad said. "I think that the Abu Shabab gang in the southern Gaza Strip will not be a game-changer in the Israel-Hamas war." Michael Milshtein, former director for Palestinian affairs in Israeli intelligence, was more direct. The Popular Forces represent "the gang of Abu Shabab clan" that was "involved in criminal cases, smuggling, robbing, every negative aspect" before 7 October, he told Euronews. "I am very much a critic toward this policy or this move," Milshtein said. "We ignore the basic DNA, the basic nature of such a gang. You know, they are thieves." Simply put, Israel is repeating the same mistakes yet again, he warned. "It seems to me that we learned nothing from history," Milshtein concluded. In turn, some Israeli officials defended the arrangement as necessary given the absence of effective authority alternatives in Gaza. Power vacuums inevitably get filled, Hassan-Nahoum argued. "I'm a big believer that there's never a vacuum of power," she said. "When one hole is created, somebody comes and fills it up. And this is what's happening." And with Hamas' aggressive approach backfiring, putting the group in Israeli gunsights, the gangs might be reconsidering their approach, she argued. "Let's try plan B, get along with Israel and maybe we'll be better off." A former senior member of the Mossad's counterterrorism unit, who spoke to Euronews under the condition of anonymity to avoid interfering with the Israeli government's work, acknowledged the group's criminal nature but suggested support for them amounted to pragmatic necessity. "They're not people I see as an alternative for long term in Gaza, I mean they are gangsters, but sometimes you have to work with gangsters to overthrow Hamas," they told Euronews. Intelligence sources who spoke to Euronews described Israeli support as "a short-term tactical move," with these groups unable to serve as "a substitute for a long-term strategic plan." Others join in to protect aid convoys Meanwhile, the ongoing humanitarian crisis, which has placed some 2 million Palestinians in peril of starvation, might turn into a key political, ideological and armed battleground in Gaza. In recent weeks, further self-organised groups with no links to either Hamas or Abu Shabab have come forward in a bid to provide armed protection to aid deliveries in the Strip. In late June, a group of Gaza's influential residents announced that they had initiated an independent effort to secure aid convoys from looting. 'We gather in this place to announce with a loud cry and a loud voice that these trucks that come to Gaza, the besieged city … must reach families there and those in need,' the National Gathering of Palestinian Tribes, Clans and Families said in a video statement seen by Euronews. 'Do not be part of a group that is misled by the robbers and the smugglers. They are selling (aid) in the markets at high prices,' the group said. 'We must eradicate this evil phenomenon, and we must stop these smugglers from taking the trucks, and let the trucks go to the warehouses safely, until they are distributed to everyone, and each person takes their share,' they concluded. However, these initiatives remain confined to pockets of the Strip, and whether they can challenge Hamas' ironclad grip on Gaza remains dubious, experts say. The Popular Forces' 300 fighters alone represent a fraction of Gaza's population and lack the infrastructure to partake in its administration in any meaningful way, compared to Hamas' well-organised and robust mechanism, which does not bode well for the likes of Abu Shabab. "Hamas knows how to suppress popular uprisings or organisations that try to challenge them," Aviad said. "Hamas has a very sophisticated, very efficient security apparatus that knows how to find those who collaborated with Israel." Can a true contender step up? The biggest challenge any newcomer faces is winning over the hearts and minds of Palestinians, as Hamas has controlled Gaza since 2007, or nearly two decades. "Most of the population knows only the Hamas movement. More than half of the population in the Gaza Strip is under 18," Aviad explained. "So, most of the population was educated by the Hamas system; that's what they are familiar with." And Abu Shabab cooperating with Israel might prove counter-effective, as the devastation of the Israel-Hamas war has deepened anti-Israeli sentiment in the Strip. "After a very, very bloody war in Gaza, there is not a single person in Gaza who hasn't lost someone in their family or friends," Aviad observed. "So, none of them are going to like the Israeli regime more." And in Gaza, contenders have been hard to come by anyway. The Israeli government has rejected the Palestinian Authority — who remain the recognised political representatives of the occupied West Bank — return to the Strip, while no credible alternative has emerged. "There are two main blocs in Palestinian society: the secular one, which is led by Fatah or the Palestinian Authority, and the religious one, ruled by Hamas and Islamic Jihad," Aviad concluded. "There is no third alternative." Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority's influence has come into question even further, after a group of sheikhs in the West Bank announced over the weekend they are interested in declaring an emirate in Hebron and joining Israel's Abraham Accords, in what they say is an attempt at finally reaching peace in the region. In Gaza, the fundamental question remains whether supporting criminal gangs can provide a pathway to post-Hamas governance. "We want somebody to come and say, you know, we are the viable rulers,' Hassan-Nahoum explained. 'And on the other hand, if ideologically they're still on the same page as Hamas, then what did we achieve here?'
France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
US imposes sanctions on UN human rights expert investigating Israeli abuses in Gaza
The Trump administration announced Wednesday that it is issuing sanctions against an independent investigator tasked with probing human rights abuses in the Palestinian territories, the latest effort by the United States to punish critics of Israel 's 21-month war in Gaza. The State Department's decision to impose sanctions on Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur for the West Bank and Gaza, follows an unsuccessful US pressure campaign to force the international body to remove her from her post. It also comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is visiting Washington this week to meet with President Donald Trump and other officials about the war in Gaza and more. It's unclear what the practical impact the sanctions will have and whether the independent investigator will be able to travel to the US with diplomatic paperwork. Albanese, an Italian human rights lawyer, has been vocal about what she has described as the ' genocide ' by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza. Both Israel and the US, which provides military support to its close ally, have strongly denied that accusation. The US had not previously addressed concerns with Albanese head-on because it has not participated in either of the two Human Rights Council sessions this year, including the summer session that ended Tuesday. This is because the Trump administration withdrew the US earlier this year. In recent weeks, Albanese has issued a series of letters urging other countries to pressure Israel, including through sanctions, to end its deadly bombardment of the Gaza Strip. 02:03 She has also been a strong supporter of the International Criminal Court's arrest warrants against Israeli officials, including Netanyahu, for allegations of war crimes. She most recently issued a report naming several large US companies as among those aiding what she described as Israel's occupation and war on Gaza. 'Albanese's campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated,' Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted on social media. 'We will always stand by our partners in their right to self-defense.' Albanese's July 1 report focuses on Western defense companies that have provided weapons used by Israel's military as well as manufacturers of earth-moving equipment that have bulldozed Palestinian homes and property. It cites activities by companies in the shipping, real estate, technology, banking and finance and online travel industries, as well as academia. 'While life in Gaza is being obliterated and the West Bank is under escalating assault, this report shows why Israel's genocide continues: because it is lucrative for many,' her report said. A request for comment from the UN's top human rights body was not immediately returned. Israel's diplomatic mission in Geneva, where the 47-member Human Rights Council is based, called Albanese's report 'legally groundless, defamatory, and a flagrant abuse of her office' and having 'whitewashed Hamas atrocities.' Outside experts, such as Albanese, do not represent the United Nations and have no formal authority. However, they report to the council as a means of monitoring countries' human rights records. Albanese has faced criticism from pro-Israel officials and groups in the US and in the Middle East. The US mission to the UN issued a scathing statement last week, calling for her removal for 'a years-long pattern of virulent anti-Semitism and unrelenting anti-Israel bias.' The statement said Albanese's allegations of Israel committing genocide or apartheid are 'false and offensive.' Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, celebrated the US action, saying in a statement Wednesday that Albanese's 'relentless and biased campaign against Israel and the United States has long crossed the line from human rights advocacy into political warfare.' It is a culmination of a nearly six-month campaign by the Trump administration to quell criticism of Israel's handling of the war in Gaza. Earlier this year, the administration began arresting and trying to deport faculty and students of US universities who participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations and other political activities. The war between Israel and Hamas began Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel and killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 people captive. Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed over 57,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which says women and children make up most of the dead but does not specify how many were fighters or civilians. Nearly 21 months into the conflict that displaced the vast majority of Gaza's 2.3 million people, it is nearly impossible for the critically wounded to get the care they need, doctors and aid workers say. 'We must stop this genocide, whose short-term goal is completing the ethnic cleansing of Palestine, while also profiteering from the killing machine devised to perform it,' Albanese said in a recent post on X. 'No one is safe until everyone is safe.'
