Israel’s Plan to Back Gaza Militias Proves a Risky Gamble

The killing on Thursday of Yasser Abu Shabab, a Gazan militia leader backed by Israel, underscored what analysts had long warned: that Palestinians handpicked by Israel to undermine Hamas would most likely meet a violent end.
Mr. Abu Shabab’s group, the Popular Forces, was the strongest of several Gaza militias Israel had worked with to combat Hamas. Israeli officials said they had even helped arm Mr. Abu Shabab’s militia, though he denied that.
Many Palestinians condemned Mr. Abu Shabab as a traitor, and some Israelis were equally skeptical of his intentions and capabilities. But in a rare interview in late October, he told The New York Times that he was unabashed about his ties with Israel.
“There’s coordination on the level of security, and on the operations around us,” he said, and added, “These aim to prevent any terrorist from infiltrating us,” referring to Hamas.
On Thursday, the militia leader was killed during clashes involving a Palestinian clan in southern Gaza, his group said on social media.
Hamas did not immediately appear to have been involved in the killing of Mr. Abu Shabab, who was based near the city of Rafah in an area controlled by the Israeli military. But Gaza’s Hamas-run interior ministry celebrated his death in a statement on Friday, saying it was “the inevitable fate of every traitor,” and urged the remaining members of Palestinian militias close to Israel to hand themselves in, “before it is too late.”
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