Palestinian collaborator with the Zionist regime and Wall Street Journal columnist Yasser Abu Shabab and his “Popular Forces” will stay in Gaza following the ceasefire between the occupation and Hamas, according to a report by Zionist press on October 9th.
The Hebrew news outlet noted that Abu Shabab’s militia is deployed in areas that will not be evacuated by the occupation army in the first phase of the ceasefire agreement, allowing the group to enjoy further Zionist protection, at least temporarily.
The “Popular Forces” established a base under Zionist guidance in the area east of the destroyed city of Rafah on the Gaza border with Egypt.
This area is far behind the “yellow line,” to which occupation troops must withdraw, according to the map detailing genocide collaborator, Donald Trump’s, ceasefire plan.
Abu Shabab’s men are also behind the “red line” of withdrawal, up to which an international force will allegedly be deployed. Areas occupied by the group in the destroyed cities of Beit Lahya and Beit Hanoun, and eastern Khan Yunis, are also behind the yellow line.
In early 2024, as the regime was imposing its starvation siege on Gaza, Zionist intelligence armed and funded Abu Shabab’s militia, tasking them with attacking and looting convoys carrying humanitarian aid into Gaza, including from the UN.
Zionist officials then blamed the attacks and chaos on Hamas, using the excuse to seize control of aid distribution in Gaza via the deadly Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
Abu Shabab was detained by Hamas in 2015 and sentenced to 25 years in prison on charges of drug trafficking and theft.
He escaped in October 2023 after Zionist airstrikes hit the prison where he was being held. Leaders of Abu Shabab’s Tarabin clan publicly disowned him and have called for his killing for collaborating with the regime.
Hossam al-Astal, the “Popular Forces” commander in eastern Khan Yunis, claimed the group would remain in Gaza, while Hamas would be forced to leave.
“The Hamas dogs will not be happy, we exist and they are (the ones) leaving,” Astal claimed.
On the other hand, a security source in the Ministry of Interior in Gaza told Quds Press on Thursday that members of Abu Shabab’s militia fear being prosecuted after the genocide ends.
The source said members of the group have recently begun communicating with several families and tribal leaders, in hopes of opening indirect channels with the Ministry of Interior to resolve their legal and tribal status and ensure they are not subject to prosecution.
The source explained that this communication took place in secrecy, via intermediaries from local and tribal leaders, who relayed messages between the police leadership in Gaza and the militia members who wished to settle their status.
A specific mechanism was agreed upon for them to surrender and stand trial, while ensuring the confidentiality of the proceedings, the source added.
Sources also revealed to Quds Press that Abu Shabab’s group had helped Israeli forces arrest Dr. Marwan al-Hams, the director general of field hospitals, from a medical facility in Rafah about two months ago.
The sources said that additional information regarding the militia’s crimes would be revealed “in the coming days.”