Middle East Green Summit issues presidential communiqué and statement

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Updated 08 November 2022
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Middle East Green Summit issues presidential communiqué and statement

The full text of the second edition of the Middle East Green Summit presidential communiqué and statement can be found below.

COMMUNIQUÉ

At the kind joint invitation from President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi of the Arab Republic of Egypt, and HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and President of the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the second edition of the Middle East Green Initiative Summit was held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, in the presence of a number of leaders from Middle Eastern and African countries along with international officials in the environment and climate change sector on Monday the 7th of November 2022, co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

The assembled leaders valued the efforts made by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in preserving the environment and limiting the impact of climate change, particularly the two initiatives by HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and President of the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the “Saudi Green Initiative” and the “Middle East Green Initiative” for the positive impact they will leave on the environment in regional countries and the world, improving the quality of life, and facing the challenges of climate change.

Assembled leaders valued the efforts made by the Arab Republic of Egypt and President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to host the second Middle East Green Initiative Summit in his country in conjunction with (COP27).

The assembled leaders stressed the importance of joint collective action in achieving the desired goals of the Middle East Green Initiative, believing in the importance of its goals that can be realized through concerted efforts and active contributions by regional nations.

The assembled leaders affirmed that the second Middle East Green Initiative would contribute to accelerating the realization of 2030 sustainable development goals, and to achieving prosperity for the populations of member states.

The assembled leaders stressed the importance of achieving climate and environmental goals, in addition to adhering to related international conventions approved by the United Nations, in a way that contributes to achieving the UN sustainable development goals for 2030 and the UN Decade in Ecosystem Restoration, determination to achieve integration and close coordination between member states, and investing that in raising their collective capability to face the challenges of climate change.

The assembled leaders affirmed that member states in the initiative adhere to implementing their pledges and commitments within the framework of the Paris Agreement, and to working on taking the necessary measures to curb the rise of the average global temperature in accordance with the levels set by the Paris Agreement.

1-The assembled leaders reiterated the importance of working to strengthen support for the implementation of the Paris Agreement, and to achieve sustainable development goals that contribute to economic diversity and the eradication of poverty.

2-The assembled leaders emphasized enhancing the integration of the optimal energy mix for electricity production, supporting the electrical grid’s capacity for the entry of renewable energy, contributing to achieving climate change targets through signing interconnection memorandums and agreements that were signed with multiple regional nations such as Iraq, Egypt, and Jordan, as an extension of interconnection cooperation for the GCC countries.

3-The Assembled leaders affirmed support for efforts to reduce emissions in the Middle East region and beyond by signing bilateral and multilateral agreements and MOUs in the field of clean energy, which will advance cooperation in clean energy and its technologies and expand its scope in this field.

4-The Assembled leaders endorsed the importance of joint cooperation to address and manage the challenges posed by greenhouse gas emissions through a holistic approach and various available clean technologies, including the circular carbon economy approach and its four pillars, which represent an integrated, comprehensive framework and applications that countries can utilize in developing climate action plans in line with the national priorities and conditions of each country.

5-The Assembled leaders reiterated strengthening joint action to support efforts to develop and disseminate modern technologies for carbon capture, utilization, and storage, and decarburization technologies, in particular, from energy-intensive and emission-intensive sectors, while promoting investments in this field to contribute to the international efforts to address emissions.

6-The Assembled leaders affirmed commitment to adopting an appropriate national approach to achieve a just transition to a low-emissions development model capable of adapting to the effects of climate change, based on proven scientific recommendations, agreed responsibilities and principles, primarily fairness and justice, and taking into account the national conditions of each country.

7-The Assembled leaders stressed the importance of joint international action in the field of “clean fuel” solutions to provide food, which contributes to achieving sustainable development goals, in general, and Goal (7), in particular, that aspires to universal access to reliable and sustainable energy at the most affordable cost.

8-The assembled leaders expressed their determination to continue cooperation with friendly countries and regional international organizations to ensure achieving the goals of the Middle East Green Summit, and to serve the interests of member states and international partners.

The assembled leaders affirmed their commitment to prepare a better future for upcoming generations, believing in the importance of what the initiative aspires to do towards the sustainable development of the region and the preservation and restoration of biodiversity in it for the benefit of the countries and peoples of the whole world.

The assembled leaders reiterated the importance of emphasizing the mobilization and provision of necessary funding for the Middle East Green Initiative, and for all technologies and solutions that contribute to addressing emissions through bilateral,regional, and international frameworks, and coordination in this context, in addition to welcoming the financing pledges made by a number of banks and the OPEC Fund for International Development.

The assembled leaders affirmed that implementation of the objectives of the Middle East Green Initiative would contribute to reducing and managing greenhouse gas emissions from all sources, including renewable energy and clean technologies to manage emissions from hydrocarbon materials, and remove millions of tons of carbon emissions through technological and natural solutions.

The assembled leaders renewed their determination to exert efforts to reach the initiative’s goals to limit land deterioration, restore vegetation cover, maintain biological diversity, adapt to climate change, curb its negative effects to reduce economic losses, support sustainable development, and realize prosperity.

The assembled leaders renewed their determination to agree to enhance cooperation and support regarding the improvement of managing natural resources, and combating land deterioration and desertification, while making a commitment to make joint efforts to strengthen water security and food security in the face of the negative effects of climate change.

The assembled leaders stressed the importance of cross border cooperation in various areas, especially considering the management of vulnerable resources due to climate change, in a manner that strengthens joint action frameworks including bilateral, regional, and collective ones.

The assembled leaders called upon countries, related regional and international organizations and commissions, as well finance institutions and the private sector to provide financial and technical support for the initiative to enable it to achieve its ambitious targets on the national, regional, and international levels.

The assembled leaders expressed their appreciation of President Abdelfattah El-Sisi of the Arab Republic of Egypt, and HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and President of the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for their leadership of these efforts and joint invitation in hosting the second summit of the Middle East Green Initiative in the city of Sharm El Sheikh, and for the hospitality and support for this summit by the government and people of the Arab Republic of Egypt.

 

STATEMENT

At the joint invitation of President Abdelfattah El-Sisi of the Arab Republic of Egypt, and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Prime Minister, the Green Middle East Summit, in its second edition, was held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, in the presence of a number of leaders of Middle Eastern and African countries and international officials in the environment and climate change sector on Monday, November 07, 2022, under the joint Saudi-Egyptian presidency.

The gathered leaders valued the efforts exerted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the field of preserving the environment and limiting the effects of climate change, in particular the two initiatives of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Green Saudi Arabia, and the Green Middle East, for their positive impact on the environment in the countries of the region and the world, improving the quality of life, and facing the challenges of climate change.

The leaders valued the efforts of Egypt, and President Abdelfattah El-Sisi, for his country's hosting of the second Green Middle East Summit, in conjunction with the holding of the Climate Change Conference (COP27).

The leaders stressed the importance of joint work in achieving the desired goals of the Green Middle East Initiative, believing in the importance of its goals that would be achieved through concerted efforts and the active contribution of countries in the region.

The leaders affirmed that the second Green Middle East Initiative will contribute to accelerating the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, and achieving prosperity for the peoples of the member states.

The leaders stressed the importance of achieving climate and environmental goals, adhering to the relevant international conventions approved by the UN, which contributes to achieving the goals of the UN Sustainable Development Organization for the year 2030, and the UN Decade for the Restoration of Ecosystems, and the determination to achieve integration and close coordination among Member States and invest that in raising its collective capacity in facing the challenges of climate change.

The gathered leaders affirmed the commitment of the member states of the initiative to implement their pledges and commitments within the framework of the Paris Agreement and to take the necessary measures to limit the average global temperature rise according to the levels set by the Paris Agreement.

The leaders reiterated the importance of working to enhance support for the implementation of the Paris Agreement and the achievement of sustainable development goals, in a way that contributes to economic diversification and poverty eradication.

The leaders emphasized the enhancement of the integration of the optimized energy mix to produce electricity, support for the accommodation of electric grids to enter renewable energy, and the contribution to achieve climate change goals by signing memoranda and electrical interconnection agreements that were signed with many countries in the region such as Iraq, Egypt, and Jordan, and what they will constitute of an extension of cooperation in the electrical interconnection grids with the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC).

The leaders affirmed support for efforts to reduce emissions inside and outside the Middle East by signing bilateral and multilateral agreements and memoranda of understanding in the field of clean energy, which will advance and expand cooperation in clean energy and its technologies in this field.

The leaders stressed the importance of joint cooperation to address and manage the challenges arising from greenhouse gas emissions through a holistic approach and various available clean technologies, including the circular carbon economy approach and its four pillars, which represent an integrated and comprehensive framework that countries can benefit from and its applications in their development of climate action plans in line with the national priorities and conditions of each country.

The gathered leaders reiterated their emphasis on enhancing joint action to support efforts to develop modern technologies for use and storage of the carbon capture, and decarbonization technologies, in particular, from energy-intensive and emission-intensive sectors, with promoting investments in this field to contribute to the international effort to address emissions.

The leaders affirmed their commitment to adopt an appropriate national approach to achieve a just transformation of a low-emissions development model capable of adapting to the effects of climate change, based on proven scientific recommendations, responsibilities and agreed principles, foremost of which is equity and justice, and taking into account the national circumstances of each country.

The leaders stressed the importance of joint international action in the field of "clean fuel" solutions to provide food, which contributes to achieve the sustainable development goals in general, and the seventh goal, in particular, which aspires to universal access to reliable and sustainable energy at the most affordable cost.

The leaders expressed their determination to continue cooperation with friendly countries and regional and international organizations to ensure the achievement of the goals of the Green Middle East Summit, and to serve the interests of member states and international partners.

The leaders affirmed their commitment to creating a better future for the generations to come, believing in the importance of the initiative's aspiration for the sustainable development of the region and the preservation and restoration of biodiversity in it for the benefit of the countries and peoples of the whole world.

The leaders reiterated the importance of emphasizing the mobilization and provision of the necessary financing for the Green Middle East Initiative, and for all technologies and solutions that contribute to addressing emissions through bilateral, regional and international frameworks. In addition, they welcomed the financing pledges provided by a number of funds, especially the Islamic Development Bank and the OPEC Fund for International Development.

The leaders emphasized that implementing the goals of the Green Middle East Initiative will contribute to reducing and managing greenhouse gas emissions from all sources, including renewable energy and clean technologies for managing hydrocarbon emissions, and removing millions of tons of carbon emissions through technical and natural solutions.

The leaders renewed their determination to exert efforts to achieve the initiative's goals to reduce land degradation, restore vegetation cover, preserve biodiversity, adapt to climate change and reduce its negative impacts to reduce economic losses, support sustainable development and achieve prosperity.

The leaders renewed their determination to agree to enhance cooperation and support in improving the management of natural resources and combating land degradation and desertification, with a commitment to make joint efforts to enhance water and food security in the face of the negative effects of climate change.

The leaders stressed the importance of cross-border cooperation in various fields, especially with regard to managing vulnerable resources due to the climate change, in a way that enhances joint action frameworks, whether in the bilateral, regional or collective framework.

The gathered leaders called on countries, organizations, relevant regional and international bodies, financing institutions and the private sector to provide financial and technical support for the initiative to enable it to achieve its ambitious goals at the national, regional and international levels.

The gathered leaders expressed their appreciation to President Abdelfattah El-Sisi of the Arab Republic of Egypt, and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for their leadership of these efforts and their joint invitation to host the second Green Middle East Summit in Sharm El-Sheikh and to the Government and people of Egypt for their generous hospitality and support for this summit.


WHO urges ‘urgent protection’ of key Gaza hospitals

Updated 06 June 2025
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WHO urges ‘urgent protection’ of key Gaza hospitals

  • The WHO said both hospitals are already operating “above their capacity,” with patients suffering life-threatening injuries arriving amid a “dire shortage of essential medicines and medical supplies”

GENEVA: The World Health Organization on Thursday called for the “urgent protection” of two of the last hospitals remaining in the Gaza Strip, warning that the territory’s health system is “collapsing.”
The WHO said the Nasser Medical Complex and Al-Amal Hospital risk becoming “non-functional” because of restrictions on aid and access routes, further damaging a health system already battered by months of war.
“There are already no hospitals functioning in the north of Gaza. Nasser and Amal are the last two functioning public hospitals in Khan Younis, where currently most of the population is living,” the UN agency said in a statement on X.
“Without them, people will lose access to critical health services,” it said.
The WHO added that closure of the two hospitals would eliminate 490 beds and reduce Gaza’s hospital capacity to less than 1,400 beds — 40 percent below pre-war levels — for a population of two million people.
The WHO said the hospitals have not been told to evacuate but lie within or just outside an Israeli-declared evacuation zone announced on June 2.
Israeli authorities have told Gaza’s health ministry that access routes to the two hospitals will be blocked, the WHO said.
As a result, it will be “difficult, if not impossible” for medical staff and new patients to reach them, it said.
“If the situation further deteriorates, both hospitals are at high risk of becoming non-functional, due to movement restrictions, insecurity, and the inability of WHO and partners to resupply or transfer patients,” the organization said.
The WHO said both hospitals are already operating “above their capacity,” with patients suffering life-threatening injuries arriving amid a “dire shortage of essential medicines and medical supplies.”
It warned the closure of Nasser and Al-Amal would have dire consequences for patients in need of surgical care, intensive care, blood bank and transfusion services, cancer care and dialysis.
After nearly 20 months of war triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, Gaza is mired in one of the world’s gravest humanitarian crises, with civilians enduring relentless bombardment, mass displacement and severe hunger.
 

 


Gaza aid logistics company funded by Chicago private equity firm 

Palestinian boys carry pots as the queue at a hot meal distribution point in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, June 4, 2025.
Updated 06 June 2025
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Gaza aid logistics company funded by Chicago private equity firm 

  • Israel blocked almost all aid into Gaza for 11 weeks until May 19, and has since only allowed limited deliveries in, mostly managed by the new GHF operation
  • SRS is run by a former CIA official named Phil Reilly, but its ownership has not previously been disclosed

WASHINGTON: A Chicago-based private equity firm - controlled by a member of the family that founded American publishing company Rand McNally - has an "economic interest" in the logistics company involved in a controversial new aid distribution operation in Gaza.
McNally Capital, founded in 2008 by Ward McNally, helped "support the establishment" of Safe Reach Solutions, a McNally Capital spokesperson told Reuters. SRS is a for-profit company established in Wyoming in November, state incorporation records show. It is in the spotlight for its involvement with the U.S.- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which last week started distributing aid in the war-torn Palestinian enclave. The foundation paused work on Wednesday after a series of deadly shootings close to its operations and has suffered from the departure of senior personnel.

HIGHLIGHTS

• McNally Capital has economic interest in Safe Reach Solutions

• GHF aid distribution halted after deadly shootings near operations

• U.N. and aid groups refuse to work with GHF, citing lack of neutrality

"McNally Capital has provided administrative advice to SRS and worked in collaboration with multiple parties to enable SRS to carry out its mission," the spokesperson said. "While McNally Capital has an economic interest in SRS, the firm does not actively manage SRS or have a day-to-day operating role."
SRS is run by a former CIA official named Phil Reilly, but its ownership has not previously been disclosed. Reuters has not been able to establish who funds the newly created foundation.
The spokesperson did not provide details of the scale of the investment in SRS by McNally Capital, which says it has $380 million under management.
McNally Capital founder Ward McNally is the great great great grandson of the co-founder of Rand McNally. The McNally family sold the publishing company in 1997.
A spokesperson for SRS confirmed it worked with the foundation, also known as GHF, but did not answer specific questions about ownership.
GHF, which resumed aid distribution on Thursday, did not respond to a request for comment
While Israel and the United States have both said they don't finance the operation, they have pushed the United Nations and international aid groups to work with it, arguing that aid distributed by a long-established U.N. aid network was diverted to Hamas. Hamas has denied that.
Israel blocked almost all aid into Gaza for 11 weeks until May 19, and has since only allowed limited deliveries in, mostly managed by the new GHF operation. This week GHF pressed Israel to boost civilian safety beyond the perimeter of its distribution sites after Gazan health officials said at least 27 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded by Israeli fire near one of the food distribution sites on Tuesday, the third consecutive day of chaos and bloodshed to blight the aid operation.
The Israeli military said its forces on Tuesday had opened fire on a group of people they viewed as a threat after they left a designated access route near the distribution center in Rafah. It said it was investigating what had happened.
The U.N and most other aid groups have refused to work with GHF because they say it is not neutral and that the distribution model militarizes aid and forces displacement.
The SRS spokesperson said in a statement that under Reilly's leadership, "SRS brings together a multidisciplinary team of experts in security, supply chain management, and humanitarian affairs."
McNally Capital has investments in defense contracting companies. Among the firms it acquired was Orbis Operations, a firm that specializes in hiring former CIA officers. Orbis did not return calls for comment. Reilly used to work for Orbis.

 


Without meat, families in Gaza struggle to celebrate Islam’s Eid Al-Adha holiday

Updated 06 June 2025
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Without meat, families in Gaza struggle to celebrate Islam’s Eid Al-Adha holiday

  • The UN says 96 percent of the livestock and 99 percent of the poultry are dead

MUWASI, Gaza Strip: With the Gaza Strip devastated by war and siege, Palestinians struggled Thursday to celebrate one of the most important Islamic holidays.
To mark Eid Al-Adha – Arabic for the Festival of Sacrifice — Muslims traditionally slaughter a sheep or cow and give away part of the meat to the poor as an act of charity. Then they have a big family meal with sweets. Children get gifts of new clothes.
But no fresh meat has entered Gaza for three months. Israel has blocked shipments of food and other aid to pressure Hamas to release hostages taken in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that started the war. And nearly all the territory’s homegrown sheep, cattle and goats are dead after 20 months of Israeli bombardment and ground offensives.
Some of the little livestock left was on sale at a makeshift pen set up in the vast tent camp of Muwasi in the southern part of Gaza’s Mediterranean coast.
But no one could afford to buy. A few people came to look at the sheep and goats, along with a cow and a camel. Some kids laughed watching the animals and called out the prayers connected to the holiday.
“I can’t even buy bread. No meat, no vegetables,” said Abdel Rahman Madi. “The prices are astronomical.”
The Eid commemorates the test of faith of the Prophet Ibrahim – Abraham in the Bible – and his willingness to sacrifice his son as an act of submission to God. The day is usually one of joy for children – and a day when businesses boom a bit as people buy up food and gifts.
But prices for everything have soared amid the blockade, which was only slightly eased two weeks ago. Meat and most fresh fruits and vegetables disappeared from the markets weeks ago.
At a street market in the nearby city of Khan Younis, some stalls had stuffed sheep toys and other holiday knickknacks and old clothes. But most people left without buying any gifts after seeing the prices.
“Before, there was an Eid atmosphere, the children were happy … Now with the blockade, there’s no flour, no clothes, no joy,” said Hala Abu Nqeira, a woman looking through the market. “We just go to find flour for our children. We go out every day looking for flour at a reasonable price, but we find it at unbelievable prices.”
Israel’s campaign against Hamas has almost entirely destroyed Gaza’s ability to feed itself. The UN says 96 percent of the livestock and 99 percent of the poultry are dead. More than 95 percent of Gaza’s prewar cropland is unusable, either too damaged or inaccessible inside Israeli military zones, according to a land survey published this week by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization.
Israel barred all food and other supplies from entering Gaza for more than two months. It eased the blockade two weeks ago to allow a trickle of aid trucks in for the UN to distribute. The trucks have brought in some food items, mainly flour. But the UN says it has struggled to delivery much of the incoming aid because of looting or Israeli military restrictions.
Almost the entire population of more than 2 million people have been driven from their homes, and most have had to move multiple times to escape Israeli offensives.
Rasha Abu Souleyma said she recently slipped back to her home in Rafah — from which her family had fled to take refuge in Khan Younis — to find some possessions she’d left behind.
She came back with some clothes, pink plastic sunglasses and bracelets that she gave to her two daughters as Eid gifts.
“I can’t buy them clothes or anything,” the 38-year-old said. “I used to bring meat in Eid so they would be happy, but now we can’t bring meat, and I can’t even feed the girls with bread.”
Near her, a group of children played on makeshift swings made of knotted and looped ropes.
Karima Nejelli, a displaced woman from Rafah, pointed out that people in Gaza had now marked both Eid Al-Adha and the other main Islamic holiday, Eid Al-Fitr, two times each under the war. “During these four Eids, we as Palestinians did not see any kind of joy, no sacrifice, no cookies, no buying Eid clothes or anything.”
 

 


Media groups urge Israel to allow Gaza access for foreign journalists

Updated 06 June 2025
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Media groups urge Israel to allow Gaza access for foreign journalists

  • An open letter shared by the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders called the restrictions “a situation that is without precedent in modern warfare.”

NEW YORK: More than 130 news outlets and press freedom groups called Thursday for Israel to immediately lift a near-total ban on international media entering Gaza, while calling for greater protections for Palestinian journalists in the territory.
Israel has blocked most foreign correspondents from independently accessing Gaza since it began its war there following the unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack by militant group Hamas.
An open letter shared by the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders called the restrictions “a situation that is without precedent in modern warfare.”
Signees included AFP’s global news director Phil Chetwynd, The Associated Press executive editor Julie Pace, and the editor of Israeli newspaper Haaretz Aluf Benn.
The letter added that many Palestinian journalists — whom news outlets have relied on to report from inside Gaza — face a litany of threats.
“Local journalists, those best positioned to tell the truth, face displacement and starvation,” it said.
“To date, nearly 200 journalists have been killed by the Israeli military. Many more have been injured and face constant threats to their lives for doing their jobs: bearing witness.
“This is a direct attack on press freedom and the right to information.”
The letter added that it was a “pivotal moment” in Israel’s war — with renewed military actions and efforts to boost humanitarian aid to Gaza.
This, it said, makes it “vital that Israel open Gaza’s borders for international journalists to be able to report freely and that Israel abides by its international obligations to protect journalists as civilians.”
Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of the Committee to Protect Journalists, said in a separate statement that Israel must grant journalists access and allow them to work in Gaza “without fear for their lives.”
“When journalists are killed in such unprecedented numbers and independent international media is barred from entering, the world loses its ability to see clearly, to understand fully, and to respond effectively to what is happening,” she said.
Reporters Without Borders head Thibaut Bruttin said the media blockade on Gaza “is enabling the total destruction and erasure of the blockaded territory.”
“This is a methodical attempt to silence the facts, suppress the truth, and isolate the Palestinian press and population,” he said in a statement.
Thursday’s letter was issued the same day the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate said three reporters were killed by a strike close to a hospital in Gaza City.
Israel’s military said the strike had targeted “an Islamic Jihad terrorist who was operating in a command and control center” in the yard of the hospital.


Netanyahu says Israel has ‘activated’ some Palestinian clans opposed to Hamas

Updated 06 June 2025
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Netanyahu says Israel has ‘activated’ some Palestinian clans opposed to Hamas

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel has “activated” some clans of Palestinians in Gaza that are opposed to Hamas, though it was not immediately clear what role they would play.
His comments on social media were the first public acknowledgment of Israel’s backing of armed Palestinian groups within Gaza, based around powerful clans or extended families.
Such clans often wield some control in corners of Gaza, and some have had clashes or tensions with Hamas in the past. Palestinians and aid workers have accused clans of carrying out criminal attacks and stealing aid from trucks. Several clans have issued public statements rejecting cooperation with the Israelis or denouncing looting.
An Israeli official said that one group that Netanyahu was referring to was the so-called Popular Forces, led by Yasser Abu Shabab, a local clan leader in Gaza’s southernmost city, Rafah. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
In recent weeks, the Abu Shabab group announced online that its fighters were helping protect shipments to the new, Israeli-backed food distribution centers run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation in the Rafah area. But some Palestinians say the group has also been involved in attacking and looting aid convoys.
Netanyahu did not specify what support Israel was giving to the clans, or what specifically their role would be. His announcement came hours after a political opponent criticized him for arming unofficial groups of Palestinians in Gaza.
In a video posted to his X account, Netanyahu said the government made the move on the advice of “security officials,” in order to save lives of Israeli soldiers.
Though it was known in southern Gaza throughout the war, the Abu Shabab group emerged publicly the past month, posting pictures of its armed members, with helmets, flak jackets and automatic weapons. It declared itself a “nationalist force” protecting aid.
The Abu Shabab family renounced Yasser over his connections with the Israeli military in a recent statement, saying he and anyone who joined his group “are no longer linked” to the family.
The group’s media office said in response to emailed questions from the Associated Press that it operates in Israeli military-controlled areas for a “purely humanitarian” reason.
It described its ties with the Israel military as “humanitarian communication to facilitate the introduction of aid and ensure that it is not intercepted.”
“We are not proxies for anyone,” it said. “We have not received any military or logistical support from any foreign party.”
It said it has “secured the surroundings” of GHF centers in Rafah but was not involved in distribution of food.
It rejected accusations that the group had looted aid, calling them “exaggerations” and part of a “smear campaign.” But it also said, “our popular forces led by Yasser Abu Shabab only took the minimum amount of food and water necessary to secure their elements in the field,” without elaborating how, and from whom, they took the aid.
Abu Shabab and around 100 fighters have been active in eastern parts of Rafah and Khan Younis, areas under Israeli military control, according to Nahed Sheheiber, head of the private transportation union in Gaza that provides trucks and drivers for aid groups. He said they used to attack aid trucks driving on a military-designated route leading from the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel, the main entry point for aid.
“Our trucks were attacked many times by the Abu Shabab gang and the occupation forces stood idle. They did nothing,” Sheheiber said, referring to the Israeli military,
“The one who has looted aid is now the one who protects aid,” he said sarcastically.
An aid worker in Gaza said humanitarian groups tried last year to negotiate with Abu Shabab and other influential families to end their looting of convoys. Though they agreed, they soon reverted to hijacking trucks, the aid worker said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk the media.
The aid worker said he saw Abu Shabab’s men operating in Israeli-controlled areas near the military-held Morag Corridor in southern Gaza in late May. They were wearing new uniforms and carried what appeared to be new weapons, he said.
Jonathan Whittall, head of the UN humanitarian office OCHA for the occupied Palestinian territory, said Thursday that “criminal gangs operating under the watch of Israeli forces near Kerem Shalom would systematically attack and loot aid convoys. .... These gangs have by far been the biggest cause of aid loss in Gaza.”
The war between Israel and Hamas erupted on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-linked militants stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage.
Israel responded with an offensive that has decimated Gaza, displaced nearly all of its 2.3 million people and caused a humanitarian crisis that has left the territory on the brink of famine.
Gaza’s Health Ministry says over 54,000 Palestinians have been killed, more than half of them women and children. The ministry, which is led by medical professionals but reports to the Hamas-run government, does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its tally.
Hamas is still holding 56 hostages. Around a third are believed to be alive, though many fear they are in grave danger the longer the war goes on.