Analysis
‘A wild gamble’: Will Israel's arming of Gaza militia backfire?
In a move critics have called dangerous and risky, Israel is now supplying weapons to an independent Gaza militia in a bid to weaken Hamas.
TEL AVIV — Israel is arming a Gazan militia in order to bolster opposition to Hamas, a move approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that some critics warn could backfire with disastrous consequences.
The group is being led by Yasser Abu Shabab, a Palestinian Bedouin from the southern Gaza town of Rafah who was detained in the past by Hamas for alleged theft and drug dealing. Under Israeli sponsorship, his group has in recent months taken control of an area in the southeastern Gaza Strip in a bid to establish a Hamas-free autonomous zone. The area lies between Rafah and the Israeli border crossing of Kerem Shalom.
Israel's Channel 12 news reported that the group consists of up to 300 people.
The Israeli plan
