Yaser Abu Shabab, a member of the Tarabin tribe—the largest tribe in Gaza—is currently the central figure behind a new local militia operating in cooperation with Israel. In the past, he maintained arms smuggling ties with ISIS-Sinai, although he didn’t subscribe to the group’s ideology, and he was also involved in drug trafficking and securing Fatah facilities. As early as November 2024, the Tarabin tribe publicly disavowed Abu Shabab due to his collaboration with Israel and concerns over blood feuds with Hamas, similar to the precedent set with the Dagmoush tribe in northern Gaza, some of whose members were assassinated by Hamas over alleged collaboration. Abu Shabab is reportedly at the top of Hamas’s assassination list, and the group has already made at least two unsuccessful attempts on his life.
The militia Abu Shabab founded—known as the Popular Forces (formerly the Counter-Terrorism Agency—numbers between 100 to 300 members. Its ranks include former Palestinian security officers, most notably Ghassan al-Dahini, who is now responsible for recruiting undercover operatives to help counter Hamas’s control over aid distribution—under IDF supervision. Abu Shabab and his militia have been tasked with safeguarding humanitarian aid convoys entering Rafah and preventing Hamas from seizing the supplies. Due to the success of this operation, Abu Shabab was assigned to secure a new experimental food distribution project in eastern Rafah.
This project involves the IDF clearing a designated area, establishing a secured Palestinian enclave free of hostile actors, and setting up a food distribution point guarded by Abu Shabab’s militia. The objective is to sever Hamas’s access to both the local population and to the incoming humanitarian aid. This model is based on a successful American precedent in eastern Syria, where the United States formed the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)—a militia comprised of Sunni Arab tribes and Kurds that operated in a similar fashion against ISIS. The SDF succeeded in ending the local population’s dependency on ISIS for basic needs such as food and security. Later, once Bashar al-Assad regained control over Syria, his regime signed an agreement with the SDF that included provisions for integrating the militia into official state institutions and outlining a disarmament roadmap.
Although the Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces currently refuse to enter Gaza until the hostilities subside, the local tribes are increasingly stepping in to fill the vacuum left by Hamas and take responsibility in select areas—even amid ongoing Israeli military operations. It’s important to note that the current initiative does not exclude the possibility of the PA eventually reestablishing control in Gaza. Abu Shabab was formerly affiliated with Fatah and worked in securing PA offices in the Strip, and the PA is already involved in identifying new recruits for the militia. These efforts could eventually facilitate the entry of official PA security forces into Gaza.
Yaser Abu Shabab, a member of the Tarabin tribe—the largest tribe in Gaza—is currently the central figure behind a new local militia operating in cooperation with Israel. In the past, he maintained arms smuggling ties with ISIS-Sinai, although he didn’t subscribe to the group’s ideology, and he was also involved in drug trafficking and securing Fatah facilities. As early as November 2024, the Tarabin tribe publicly disavowed Abu Shabab due to his collaboration with Israel and concerns over blood feuds with Hamas, similar to the precedent set with the Dagmoush tribe in northern Gaza, some of whose members were assassinated by Hamas over alleged collaboration. Abu Shabab is reportedly at the top of Hamas’s assassination list, and the group has already made at least two unsuccessful attempts on his life.
The militia Abu Shabab founded—known as the Popular Forces (formerly the Counter-Terrorism Agency—numbers between 100 to 300 members. Its ranks include former Palestinian security officers, most notably Ghassan al-Dahini, who is now responsible for recruiting undercover operatives to help counter Hamas’s control over aid distribution—under IDF supervision. Abu Shabab and his militia have been tasked with safeguarding humanitarian aid convoys entering Rafah and preventing Hamas from seizing the supplies. Due to the success of this operation, Abu Shabab was assigned to secure a new experimental food distribution project in eastern Rafah.
This project involves the IDF clearing a designated area, establishing a secured Palestinian enclave free of hostile actors, and setting up a food distribution point guarded by Abu Shabab’s militia. The objective is to sever Hamas’s access to both the local population and to the incoming humanitarian aid. This model is based on a successful American precedent in eastern Syria, where the United States formed the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)—a militia comprised of Sunni Arab tribes and Kurds that operated in a similar fashion against ISIS. The SDF succeeded in ending the local population’s dependency on ISIS for basic needs such as food and security. Later, once Bashar al-Assad regained control over Syria, his regime signed an agreement with the SDF that included provisions for integrating the militia into official state institutions and outlining a disarmament roadmap.
Although the Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces currently refuse to enter Gaza until the hostilities subside, the local tribes are increasingly stepping in to fill the vacuum left by Hamas and take responsibility in select areas—even amid ongoing Israeli military operations. It’s important to note that the current initiative does not exclude the possibility of the PA eventually reestablishing control in Gaza. Abu Shabab was formerly affiliated with Fatah and worked in securing PA offices in the Strip, and the PA is already involved in identifying new recruits for the militia. These efforts could eventually facilitate the entry of official PA security forces into Gaza.