Israel is reportedly arming local militias inside the Gaza Strip in a bid to erode Hamas’s influence, but its strategy may be propping up a figure accused of looting humanitarian aid and trafficking in weapons.

Yasser Abu Shabab, the leader of a militia called the “Popular Forces,” has emerged as a powerful and polarizing presence in southern Gaza. Backed by Israel, according to a senior United Nations official quoted by the Washington Post, Shabab has carved out control over eastern Rafah, claiming dominion over 2,000 displaced Palestinians while asserting his group’s role in distributing aid and confronting Hamas.

“He has a full-glide militia up and running, fully backed by Israel,” the UN official said. The Guardian verified video footage showing Shabab’s fighters operating side by side with IDF forces at the Kerem Shalom crossing. His fighters have also set up armed checkpoints to screen and control aid convoys, despite receiving no recognition from any legitimate humanitarian organizations.

The revelations come in the wake of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s admission that Israel is supporting influential clan leaders in Gaza to “oppose Hamas.” While Netanyahu did not name Shabab directly, the militia leader’s operations are concentrated in Israeli-controlled zones, and his forces appear to move freely in IDF territory, raising questions about the depth of Israel’s coordination with the group.

Yet the man touted by some Israeli media as a potential post-Hamas leader is under fire from aid groups and rights observers. International humanitarian organizations say Shabab’s militia has looted multiple aid convoys delivering critical food and medical supplies to desperate civilians in Gaza. While he initially denied the charges, Shabab later admitted to hijacking at least six aid trucks, claiming his men acted “out of desperation,” The New York Times reported.

According to the Washington Post, Shabab has a shadowy past involving the smuggling of drugs and weapons, with ties to the Islamic State branch in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula – a connection that raises red flags about the long-term implications of Israel’s alliance with such groups.

Even more damning is that both Shabab and Israeli officials have blamed Hamas for the rampant looting of aid in Gaza, but the IDF admitted last week that it has no evidence linking Hamas to the thefts.

The strategy bears unsettling similarities to Israel’s “Village Leagues” program in the West Bank during the 1970s and 1980s, when it empowered local clan leaders with weapons and financial incentives to weaken the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). That initiative ultimately backfired, sowing corruption, violence, and resentment.

Now, critics warn, history may be repeating itself.

Shabab, for his part, has rejected all claims of collusion with Israel, calling them “Hamas propaganda.”

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