Israel armed the Palestinian rivals of Hamas. The opposition accuses Netanyahu of bringing “a clock bomb” in Gaza

Israel arouses the local militias in Gaza who oppose Hamas in an effort to counteract the jihadist movement in the besieged enclum, have recognized officials, while opposition politicians warned that this action endangers national security, reports CNN, taken over by News.ro.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended this secret action on Thursday, calling it “a good thing”. In a video posted on social networks, Netanyahu said that Israel “activated the clans in Gaza who oppose Hamas” and that this was done “at the advice of security elements”.

“A total madness,” says an opponent of Netanyahu

Former Minister of Defense and Netanyahu's rival, Avigdor Liberman, disclosed the movement on Wednesday at the Israeli news post 12, saying that Israel distributes rifles to the extremist groups in Gaza and describing the operation as “total madness”.

“We are talking about the equivalent of ISIS in Gaza,” Liberman said a day later on the Radio of the Army in Israel, specifying that Israel provides weapons to “families of criminals in Gaza to Netanyahu's orders.” “No one can guarantee that these weapons will not be directed to Israel,” he said, a warning resumed by one of the officials who spoke to CNN.

After the disclosure of Liberman, the prime minister's office issued a statement stated: “Israel acts to defeat Hamas in various ways, at the recommendation of the heads of security institutions.”

The current operation was authorized by Netanyahu without the approval of the Security Cabinet, two officials told CNN. The security office is the normal forum for making major political decisions. Netanyahu's far-right coalition partners would probably have opposed such a movement.

Hamas reaction

Meanwhile, Hamas said the plan has revealed “a serious and undeniable truth.” In a statement, the militant group said: “The Israeli occupation army arms criminal bands in the Gaza Strip in order to create a state of insecurity and social chaos.”

A group that received weapons from Israel is the militia led by Yasser Abu Shabab, officials said. Abu Shabab runs a reinforced group that controls some territories in East Rafah and posted photos in which it appears holding an AK-47 rifle, with UN vehicles behind it. Although Abu Shabab denied that he had received weapons from Israel, Hamas accused of being a “traitor”.

“We are committed to God to continue confronting the burrows of this criminal and his gang, regardless of the cost of the sacrifices we make,” Hamas said on Thursday.

The opposition politicians criticized Netanyahu for the militia arming plan and for the secret around him, considering him a continuation of the Israeli leader's decision to allow millions of dollars to reach Qatar to Gaza, starting with the end of 2018. Now he armed the gangs as an alternative to Hamas.

“After Netanyahu finished by taught millions of dollars to Hamas, he went to providing weapons to Gaza Affiliated ISIS – everything improvised, without strategic planning, and everything leading to more disasters,” said the leader of the opposition Yair Lapid on Social Media.

The uncertain future of the Gaza strip

Netanyahu did not establish a plan for who will govern Gaza in the future and has hardly clarified his post -war intentions for the coastal enclave. Some of Israel's war objectives include the complete disarmament of Hamas and annihilating his ability to govern the territory.

The arming of the militias in Gaza seems to be the most recent way in which Netanyahu has come to empower any form of alternative governance. Despite the nearly 20 months of war, Israel failed to completely remove Hamas from large parts of Gaza, and the militant group – classified as a terrorist organization in Israel, the United States and the European Union – hanging on.

Yair Golan, the head of the Democratic Party, left, said in a post on Social Media: “Instead of reaching an agreement, making arrangements with a moderate Sunnite axis and bringing home the hostages and the security of Israeli citizens, he creates a new clock in Gaza.”