| | | Two Years After October 7, Palestinian Gangs Start Filling Hamas Void
Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed many top leaders of Hamas and greatly weakened the terrorist organization, prompting other gangs and militias to step into the power vacuum.
Some of those gangs have grown strong enough to fight Hamas, which once ruled its Gaza territory with an iron fist.
The National on Tuesday profiled some of the rising stars in Palestinian tyranny, including the Al Astal gang, headed by a canny warlord called Yasser Abu Shabab. Several other clans belong to Shabab’s militia, which calls itself the Popular Army.
Some of these gangs reportedly hit on the idea of using the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to dispose of their Hamas rivals by kidnapping Hamas members and dumping them off into Israeli custody, which has further weakened the once-absolute rulers of Gaza. ...
On the other hand, some Palestinians are furious at militia leaders like Shabab for working with the Israelis. Shabab hails from a large Bedouin tribe called the Tababin, which publicly disavowed him last year for working with the IDF.
“I joined the Popular Army under Yasser Abu Shabab four months ago. I hate Hamas. For years, they cared only about taxes and money, not the people. We starved during the war — no food, no water, no shelter,” an unnamed member of Shabab’s militia told The National. ...
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