Anti-Hamas armed groups seek future role under Gaza peace plan – BBC

Lucy Williamson Middle East correspondent, Jerusalem Yasser Abu Shabab/Facebook One of the largest militia, the Popular Forces, operates near the southern city of Rafah Urgent questions are being raised over a patchwork of armed groups that have emerged to fight Hamas in Gaza over recent months. They include groups based around family clans, criminal gangs and new militia – some of which are backed by Israel, as its prime minister recently admitted. Elements within the Palestinian Authority – which governs parts of the occupied West Bank and is a political rival to Hamas – are also believed to be covertly sending support. But these militia – each operating in its own local area inside the 53% of Gaza’s territory currently controlled by Israeli forces – have not been officially included in US President Donald Trump’s peace plan, which calls for an International Stabilisation Force and a newly-trained Palestinian police force to secure Gaza in the next stage of the deal. One of the largest militia is headed by Yasser Abu Shabab, whose Popular Forces operate near the southern city of Rafah. In one recent social media video, his deputy talks about working in co-ordination with the Board of Peace –
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