CNN
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Officials say Israel is arming local Gaza militias to counter Hamas in the besieged enclave, and opposition politicians warned that the movement was at stake.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the secret corporation on Thursday, calling it a “good thing.” In a video posted to social media, Netanyahu said Israel had “a revitalized clan of Gaza against Hamas,” which was done “under the advice of security factors.”
Former defense minister and Netanyahu rival Avigdor Liberman revealed the move of Israeli Ch. 12 News On Wednesday, Israel distributed rifles to extremist groups in Gaza and said it was describing the operation as “complete insanity.”
“We’re talking about the equivalent of Gaza’s ISIS,” Liberman told Israel’s Army Radio a day later, adding that Israel is offering weapons to “criminal families in Gaza at Netanyahu’s orders.”
“No one can guarantee that these weapons will not be directed at Israel,” he said. After Liberman’s revelation, the Prime Minister’s Office said, “Israel is acting in a variety of ways to defeat Hamas, based on the recommendations of the head of the security facility.”
The operation ongoing was approved by Netanyahu without security cabinet approval, two officials told CNN. This is the usual forum for making major policy decisions. Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partner may have rejected such a move.
Hamas, meanwhile, said the plan revealed “a serious and undeniable truth.” In a statement, the extremist group said: “Israel occupation forces are arming criminal gangs in the Gaza Strip with the aim of creating a state of unrest and social disruption.”
One of the groups that received arms from Israel is a militia led by Yassar Abu Shabaab. Abu Shabaab is leading an armed group controlling several territories in eastern Rafa, and he posted a photo of himself holding an AK-47 rifle with a UN vehicle behind him. Abu Shabaab denied receiving arms from Israel, but Hamas accused him of being a “traitor.”
“We swear before God that we will stand up to the den of the criminal and his gangsters, regardless of the cost of the sacrifice we have committed,” Hamas said Thursday.
Opposition politicians tore Netanyahu apart for plans to arm the militia and the secrets around it, and denounce it as a continuation of the Israeli leader’s decision to allow the move from Qatar to Gaza in late 2018 with millions of dollars of cash.
“After Netanyahu finished handing over millions of dollars to Hamas, he moved to supplying weapons to Gaza groups belonging to ISIS. Everything is improvised, there is no strategic plan, everything leads to more disasters.”
Netanyahu has no plans for those who will rule Gaza in the future, and has made little clear about their postwar intentions for the coastal enclave. Part of Israel’s war goals include Hamas’ complete disarmament and the end of its ability to govern on territory.
The militia armament in Gaza appears to be the closest Netanyahu has come to empower all forms of alternative rules.
Despite nearly 20 months of war, Israel has not been able to completely remove Hamas from the massive belts of Gaza, and extremist groups classified as terrorist organizations in Israel, the US and the European Union are in power.
Left Democrats head Yair Golan said in a social media post: