\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/a\/AVvXsEjz_JodeElwn0LGcTYJ1rt6GXrYtI_rRKCTfDTmgH8oQwWEWu9rrhR3t9eTuKfCfi5HgzJHWtz0yc9P5xP3gRiryeCozCYSsdO4zwuTgp5VpCSRLbFqMySAb3vCaC6-xf6vGeCQj-DdsxUxPddaugjdB8ThUSQv1x5Kpx-PrgrrMduYxky7PH-LQtz9ZBc\")
<\/a><\/div>\nBy James M. For the Newsletters Increased Journalists Moreover, That \u00a0If you share these values and can afford it To Israel\u2019s Similarly, So is Ahmed Fouad An outspoken Palestinian American Hamas critic who lost 33 Writing on This week, Mr. Mr. Alkhatib Yaser Abu Mr. Alkhatib In April, <\/span>clan leaders participated in a second In response, \u201cThe\u00a0people Israel\u2019s Iraqi tribal Even so, Mr. The Councils Mr. Alkhatib The struggle Qatar Prime Eager to The Backed by Hamas ousted Israeli Hamas has conceded Mr. Popular Mr. Alkhatib Videos An internal In a Mr. Abu Shabab Gunmen take over In recent The looted Appearing on He said his Echoing Israel has The United Johnnie On Mr. Moore The Israel\u2019s Israel Despite the The \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Hamas wants The To get Hamas is \u201cIn the Dr. James M. Dorsey is an \u00a0 By James M. Dorsey For the past 15 years, The Turbulent World with James M. Dorsey, formerly The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer, has provided independent, hard-hitting reporting and analysis of the politics of the Middle East and the Muslim world. Newsletters and podcasts like The Turbulent World fill an important gap in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":283039,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[103936,107443,112524,112525,12322,112526,112527,12405,104284,100407],"tags":[1406,20098,63558,24020,16978,112528],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-283038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-egypt","category-gaza","category-hamas","category-israel","category-middle-east","category-netanyahu","category-palestine","category-qatar","category-trump","category-united-states","tag-counter","tag-criminals","tag-gazan","tag-hamas","tag-israel","tag-nurtures"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nDorsey<\/span><\/p>\n
\npast 15 years, The Turbulent World with James M. Dorsey, formerly The Turbulent
\nWorld of Middle East Soccer, has provided independent, hard-hitting reporting
\nand analysis of the politics of the Middle East and the Muslim world.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n
\nand podcasts like The Turbulent World fill an important gap in an era in which
\nmany news organisations have reduced or abandoned coverage of international
\naffairs in a world wracked by brutal wars, unimaginable humanitarian crises,
\nand increasing authoritarianism.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n
\npolitical pressure on reporters and analysts who honour the principles of
\nfairness and accuracy compounds the importance of such newsletters by
\nprofessional journalists and writers.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n
\nwho seek to hold power to account face the weakening of press freedom,
\nauthoritarian moves to control the information space, exclusion, censorship,
\nharassment, and acts of physical and verbal violence in attempts to silence
\nthem.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n
\nmis- and disinformation on social media muddles the public discourse on
\ncontroversial issues like, for example, in the Middle East, the Muslim world,
\nand beyond the Gaza war, Iran, autocracy, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and the
\ndefinition of moderate Islam.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n
\nmakes it more crucial than ever to ensure the survival of newsletters such as
\nThe Turbulent World, which rely exclusively on the support of their readers.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n
\nplease click <\/span><\/i>here<\/span><\/i><\/a>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n
\nparticipate in the poll, listen to the podcast, or watch the video click <\/span><\/i>here.<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/i><\/p>\n
\nthrottling of aid for Gaza is as much about weaponizing food and other
\nessential goods as it is about eventually installing a post-war Palestinian
\nadministration empathetic to Israeli concerns.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nIsrael\u2019s refusal to end the war intends to create space for an alternative to
\nHamas to emerge as <\/span>the group\u2019s popularity in Gaza hits
\nrock bottom<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nIsrael\u2019s sidelining of the United Nations, despite its decades of experience in
\ndelivering aid to Gaza and extensive infrastructure in the Strip.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/a\/AVvXsEgVbpSesI1_0994DK3MBr5WYvo-RhJ8ZKY83QAM5_rrse087MTAJ5M_Fsuljyl_xvAzrAFpr5VjWBX3Vvt0k3wRqdfgN7t7TOxUKKXeVbVdQ8a-tnVpcr5MGwaNGzl_17obkZPBqKb6imhvQ7RFM9RJprO8b0LOC7xaJaa_91KcoAZQx4WAqp4YKUlfj_k\")
\nAlkhatib. Credit Atlantic Council<\/span><\/p>\n
\nrelatives in the Gaza war, <\/span><\/a>Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib<\/span><\/a>, believes that Israel is following
\nthe example of the United States in Iraq, where it funded and trained Awakening
\nCouncils to counter Al-Qaeda.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nX, Mr. Alkhatib welcomed the coming out of Al-Quwat al-Shabeeya (The Popular
\nForces) headed by Yaser Abu Shabab, \u201ca notorious gangster and the leader of
\norganized looting.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
\nAbu Shabab, a scion of a Bedouin family whom Hamas jailed\u00a0 on criminal charges, called in a <\/span>video<\/span><\/a> on Palestinians to return to their
\nlargely destroyed homes east of the southern Gaza city of Rafah and promised
\nthey would have access to food, medicine, security, and shelter.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nsaid The Popular Forces were establishing camps \u201cunder the watch of the Israeli
\nmilitary\u201d that would create a \u201cbeachhead for those who refuse Hamas\u2019s
\ntyrannical and unjust government that has stolen much of the aid and brought
\ndisaster and suffering onto the Palestinian people in Gaza.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/a\/AVvXsEilwKX5FBl6bT0G9iyqpkbPmi8YoUTrVuTr0pv_n62oa4QdN9cQ1gv02x2ztI0AipDPDqGFpykPMS08P3AVSqekbchmritU5PwCN_u_q65J5Z0-HIi4NYzj4CBLzuSxGcog8WXQtqZ2kf26YkDiZjbDqJRkfG8dv2AZJ3VRr9jqgKgi3AvO-f-scxjTgmc\")
\nShabab. Source: Facebook<\/span><\/p>\n
\nsuggested that The Popular Forces\u2019 coming out indicates that Gazan clans are
\nemerging as \u201ca potential challenger for Hamas\u2019s dominion over Southern Gaza.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
\nround of anti-Hamas protests<\/span><\/a> staged despite Hamas\u2019 brutal crackdown in March on
\ndemonstrators.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nmembers of the influential Abu Samra family tracked down and killed\u00a0a
\nHamas police officer they claimed had killed their son, Abdul Rahman.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nof Gaza are completely against Hamas\u00a0and against the group\u2019s terror and
\nthe squandering of their lives and resources for absolutely nothing,\u201d Mr.
\nAlkhatib said at the time.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nproblem is that Mr. Abu Shabab, like Hamas, \u201cis deeply loathed by Palestinian
\nsociety, many of whom view him and his comrades as Israeli collaborators doing
\nthe bidding of the IDF,\u201d the Israel Defence Forces, according to Mr. Alkhatib.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/a\/AVvXsEhOXBDAw-PD-8GFq5fGRHeayOkUbx8vW6Pa9pfgjvXB4BwWgDEwGXJRFG08Zw_xfZ_pjwv_dxU6F6KfoNkYnzw40sgAe-6lPbyUkV8bs3Tbix2qM1qg8z0fZnYmf6N6tOocD3xMSXQuRCri4eRCvUHY9GoUgbYpSobIWZLW7iwQwdG-RtfHI_D-WMinfXw\")
\nleader talks to US military personnel in 2007. Credit: US Army<\/span><\/p>\n
\nAlkhatib sees a parallel between The Popular Forces and the Iraqi Awakening Councils
\nthat were formed in 2007 by US General David Petraeus to stymie Al Qaeda in
\nAnbar Province.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nbenefitted from their local roots and the support of tribal elders. Israel
\nhopes The Popular Forces can do the same.<\/span><\/p>\n
\ncautioned that the Iraqi model would only work in Gaza under \u201cthe umbrella of
\nthe (West Bank-based, internationally recognised) Palestinian Authority and an
\nArab\/Regional policing and peacekeeping force. Anything beyond that will make
\nsuch a force appear as a subcontractor for Israeli occupation, rendering it
\nineffective in the long term.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
\nfor post-war control of Gaza has sparked a battle of narratives.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/a\/AVvXsEjxlhCs7tm5nkBZjmjMybcOvjPR_xwPSa-nI4JlGWHY1eAbk0DrsPVGVOdr5w8MAUHyOUAD6ttpVRxmvtu93XhLEINDYitHXhYUZpqtABNiOtRVD7wTZeBuMREylX369aPSj9KsDjfO-uGGkp2f2kYtGCHcxUVb04XEI7vS4lytwyYYgRwZLxFWbFGaYM8\")
\nMinister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman\u00a0 Al-Thani.
\nCredit\u201d Dawn TV\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
\navoid being condemned as an Israeli stooge, Mr. Abu Shabab said he was
\noperating \u201cunder cover\u201d of, and in coordination with \u201cPalestinian legitimacy,\u201d
\na term usually used to refer to the embattled Palestine Authority, Hamas\u2019
\narch-rival.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nAuthority has neither denied nor confirmed Mr. Abu Shabab\u2019s assertion.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nmost Arab and European states, the Authority has been angling to restore its
\nGaza mandate once the war ends.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nAl-Fatah, the Authority\u2019s political backbone, from Gaza in 2007.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nPrime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has vowed to destroy Hamas before agreeing to
\nend the Gaza war and has ruled out the Authority\u2019s return to the Strip.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nthat it will not be part of Gaza\u2019s post-war administration and has proposed that
\nan “independent technocratic committee\u201d govern the Strip.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nNetanyahu\u2019s stance reinforces suspicions that The Popular Forces <\/span>is tied to Israel, bolstered by its ability to operate
\nand openly carry arms in areas controlled by Israel.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/a\/AVvXsEgNwqf5PkKybBD0Z0PDRPpaz-km7xKHhMIqVbXbiOhW_8zFLF5gJRprmdqkVJCVIxuUvC6eOYevUanepkvW9Y-dwyMJlbGlNSUGRC9KdZF_aTRLUjlUQpCKo-BtXdkOBuY1AAlf1-mR8UjSSjSLKKqFYvyApM1H6J4c0l5Qs6QDN7pRjfM72lVnGWSDFlM\")
\nForces gunmen. Credit: Yaser Abu Shabab Facebook page<\/span><\/p>\n
\nsuggested that Mr. Abu Shabab\u2019s \u201cgear\u2026resources\u2026, pick-up trucks, tents, and
\ntrucks containing flour and humanitarian supplies\u201d indicate that he also has
\nthe tacit support of the Palestine Authority \u201cand even Egyptian officials.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
\ncirculating on social media show Mr. Abu Shabab\u2019s men sporting standard
\nmilitary gear, including vests, helmets, and insignia such as the Palestinian
\nflag and a patch identifying them in English and Arabic as an “Anti-Terror
\nService.” <\/span><\/p>\n
\nUnited Nations memo leaked last November said that gangs \u201cmay be benefiting
\nfrom a passive if not active benevolence\u201d or \u201c<\/span>protection\u201d from the Israel Defence
\nForces<\/span><\/a>. One gang
\nleader, the memo said, established a \u201cmilitary-like compound\u201d in an area
\n\u201crestricted, controlled, and patrolled by the IDF.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
\ntelephone interview in November with The Washington Post, Mr. Abu Shabab
\nacknowledged that he and his relatives \u201ctake from the trucks\u201d but insisted they
\ndo not touch \u201cfood, tents, or supplies for children.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
\nsaid his group was born of desperation. \u201cHamas has left us with nothing, and
\ntheir armed men occasionally come and shoot at us. Let those who accuse us of
\nworking with Israel say what they want; Israel doesn\u2019t need us,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/a\/AVvXsEhzOv7PHFh_Qdtf6Bs5Q7AZL7-ixeauO2ishH27_peb-09Y2P0Dw-QSjSkHBReYopQPQEPDGdZXNxck9gwMjsadE19Nc4JHBJVpk_-su2qM_FQb_uBxkrBxiWZbIqXsjMOhgwaFNVV5lZK3DFfRMaj98g83FhlbJD-6Wm14Z79zBk6_ETPay2S5nlu3-KQ\")
\na flour truck. Credit: AA<\/span><\/p>\n
\ndays, Palestinian militants in Gaza charged that <\/span>The Popular Forces and other
\nallegedly Israel-backed gangs<\/span><\/a> were responsible for the looting of trucks transporting a
\ntrickle of humanitarian aid into Gaza after Israel prevented the entry of all
\nassistance for 15 weeks. <\/span><\/p>\n
\ntrucks included 15 vehicles carrying flour, one of the first World Food Program
\nconvoys to enter Gaza since Israel partially lifted its March 2 blocking of the
\nflow of humanitarian aid into the Strip.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nhis <\/span>Facebook page<\/span><\/a> holding an AK-47, Mr. Abu Shabab
\nsaid he was working with international aid agencies “to ensure the
\ndelivery of flour trucks to the displacement camps.”<\/span><\/p>\n
\n\u201cyoung men operated under dangerous conditions to prevent the theft of flour.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
\nIsraeli allegations, Mr. Abu Shabab added, “We were shocked by the organised
\nlooting aimed at selling it on the black market.”<\/span><\/p>\n
\njustified the killing of Palestinians desperate to get a box of food at
\nsecuritised distribution points operated by the troubled US and Israel-backed
\nGaza Humanitarian Foundation by asserting Hamas provoked the incidents.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nStates and Israel hastily created the foundation to cut the UN out of the
\ndistribution process with the assistance of private US military contractors.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/img\/a\/AVvXsEitndRpJertLhFpLVENRLTSYKfPT_uDLPPWWgCknqNdX9KW1RZCasU8m2Is8QLCjzYX6D6ABo83xy99F_t6uecmpRoQxTuCeh3EapTdsJUlPsxAQfkL8mj26UvXJV1XpeEnsBfpJoZJChUFgy2LbzkENIyzFDwvkNwahzKGSKZ-pqZZgWDeUVINh2j8LsA\")
\nMoore on a visit to Israel. Credit: Haksoz Haber<\/span><\/p>\n
\nWednesday, the foundation named Reverend Johnnie Moore as its new executive
\ndirector, an evangelical Christian leader close to both US President Donald J.
\nTrump and Mr. Netanyahu.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nwas appointed after former director Jake Wood resigned just weeks after taking
\nthe job, citing the foundation\u2019s inability to provide aid “while upholding
\nhumanitarian principles.” <\/span><\/p>\n
\nappointment also followed reports that the Boston Consulting Group had ended
\nits logistics and planning assistance for the foundation.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nfiring on aid seekers and chaotic scenes at the few distribution points forced
\nthe foundation to\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>pause distribution for a second day<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nasserts that the foundation will deprive Hamas of one of its last levers of
\ncontrol in Gaza and sources of income. Israel charges that Hamas diverts looted
\nhumanitarian goods to its own people and\/or sells them at exorbitant prices.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nfoundation\u2019s floundering, Gaza ceasefire negotiators are exploiting Hamas\u2019
\nweakened position to pressure it to accept an Israeli-backed US proposal for a
\n60-day truce without Israel committing to end the war and withdraw from Gaza.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nmediators, Qatar-Egypt and the United States, are willing to guarantee that
\nnegotiations will continue during the 60 days but not beyond that. <\/span><\/p>\n
\na guarantee that is not limited in time and preferably anchored in a United
\nNations Security Council resolution \u2013 a demand rejected by US Special Envoy
\nSteve Witkoff and Mr. Netanyahu.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nmediators hope that they can pressure Mr. Netanyahu during the ceasefire to
\naccept a Palestinian administration of Gaza made up of men like Mr. Abu Shabab,
\nGazan clan leaders, and businessmen, potentially under the auspices of the
\nPalestine Authority.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nthere, the mediators have to break a stalemate in which Israel and Hamas are
\nplaying a game of who blinks first.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nbetting on increased international pressure on Israel because it throttles aid,
\nsidelines the United Nations, and opens fire on aid seekers to force Mr.
\nNetanyahu\u2019s hand. At the same time, the prime minister believes that Hamas\u2019
\nweakened position will leave it no choice but to buckle.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nmeantime, <\/span>more lives are lost, more homes
\ndestroyed, and more damage done to the moral fibre of both societies<\/span><\/a>,\u201d said journalist and analyst Dan
\nPerry.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nAdjunct Senior Fellow at Nanyang Technological University\u2019s S. Rajaratnam
\nSchool of International Studies, and the author of the syndicated column and
\npodcast, <\/span><\/i><\/a>The Turbulent World with James M. Dorsey.<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"