[News] Israel Wants ISIS-Linked Militias To Control Rafah Crossing — The New Order in Gaza

[Anti-Imperialist News]

palestinechronicle.com
<https://www.palestinechronicle.com/israel-wants-isis-linked-militias-to-control-rafah-crossing-the-new-order-in-gaza/>
Israel Wants ISIS-Linked Militias To Control Rafah Crossing — The New Order
in GazaFebruary 13, 2026
------------------------------
After rejecting the deployment of Palestinian Authority security forces,
Israel has instead backed armed proxy groups — some linked to extremist
Salafist networks. (Photos: Wikimedia, Video grab. Design: Palestine
Chronicle)

*By Robert Inlakesh
<https://www.palestinechronicle.com/writers/robert-inlakesh>*

As the Gaza ceasefire moves through its early stages, the partial reopening
of the Rafah Crossing has triggered a struggle over who will control Gaza’s
border administration. After rejecting the deployment of Palestinian
Authority security forces, Israel has instead backed armed proxy groups —
some linked to extremist Salafist networks — assigning them security roles
in the border area, where reports of abuse have already begun to surface.

Key Takeaways

   - Israel rejected Palestinian Authority forces at Rafah and instead
   supported alternative armed militias.
   - Several Israeli-backed militias reportedly emerged from criminal
   networks and extremist factions inside Gaza.
   - Members of these groups have been deployed near the Rafah Crossing,
   where abuse allegations have been reported.
   - International actors monitoring the crossing are now considering
   escorts for civilians due to safety concerns.
   - The developments raise questions about the composition of future Gaza
   security structures under international plans.

Control of Rafah Crossing

After rejecting the notion of allowing professionally trained Palestinian
Authority security forces to patrol the Rafah Crossing, between Egypt and
Gaza, Israel is now using its ISIS-linked death squads to patrol the border
area. As expected, rights abuses are already being reported.

The notion that Israel was backing ISIS-linked militias was once dubbed a
fringe conspiracy theory. Today, Israel is not only overtly backing ISIS
and Al-Qaeda linked militants, but it directly created and controls five
such militant organizations.

Amid daily Israeli violations of the agreement, the Gaza ceasefire slowly
progresses between its first two loosely defined phases; one such
progression has been the partial opening of the Rafah Crossing. Under this
opening, the border zone – that is still occupied by the Israeli military –
has been the site of a limited passing of civilians in and out of the Gaza
Strip.

There have therefore been discussions about who precisely will be deployed
on the Palestinian side of the crossing to perform checks on those passing
through the crossing. Initially, the Palestinian Authority (PA) – based in
Ramallah – attempted to propose that its well-trained security forces
handle this task and that they even deploy to Gaza in order to lead through
a transitional phase.

Tel Aviv has flatly rejected any role being played in Gaza by the
Palestinian Authority, fearing that this could strengthen the case for
Palestinian statehood. Instead, the Israelis have poured millions into
backing an alternative “security force”.
Formation of Proxy Militias

Israel’s five proxy militias are composed of criminals who escaped from
Gaza’s jails after Israel bombed the entrances in late 2023, in addition to
opportunist thugs and longtime members of hardline Salafist movements that
were long repressed by the Hamas-led authority.

Starting with the militia, led by the now deceased Yasser Abu Shabab,
calling itself the “Popular Forces” – despite being perhaps the most
unpopular Palestinian group to have ever existed – did not begin as the
anti-Hamas militant group they present themselves as today.

They were first empowered by the Israelis after they invaded and occupied
the Rafah Crossing area, working under Tel Aviv’s order to seize
humanitarian aid trucks and hoard the goods they stole from the people of
Gaza. Then, Abu Shabab’s men, at a time when the people of Gaza were being
starved, drip-fed these donated goods onto the black market to be sold at
exorbitant prices.

Only toward the end of 2024 did the Israelis begin giving Abu Shabab’s aid
looters a facelift and using their contact with Western mainstream media to
whitewash the crimes of these groups, selling them instead as an organic
force fighting against Hamas. Corporate media outlets collaborated with the
Israelis in presenting these gangsters as representing the opinions of the
silent majority of Gazans.

In reality, these groups were infamous among Palestinians who saw them for
what they truly were. These militias were collaborating with the Israeli
military and intelligence to steal aid, helping to create societal strains
amidst a coordinated and deliberate campaign of mass starvation.

These militants are not only extremist terrorists, whom Hamas had long
cracked down upon, some belonging to groups that had carried out suicide
bombings and other deadly attacks on Palestinians civilians, they are also
convicted drug traffickers, murderers, and some stand accused of sexual
violence.

In other words, Israel sought out the most despicable and criminal elements
of Gaza’s population, pouring millions of dollars and weapons into
terrorist militias. Many of them subscribe to a hardline Salafist doctrine,
which justifies their criminal actions by allowing them to make Takfir (to
declare they are non-Muslim) against the majority of Gaza’s population and
even accuse them of Shirk (idol worship).

For example, leading figures within the Israeli-backed militias have
attacked Hamas for siding with Iran, as the Salafists deem the Islamic
Republic to be non-Muslim due to its Shia faith.
Deployment and Reported Abuses

Last Monday, the head of the ISIS-linked “Popular Forces” Ghassan Duhine
announced through the Hebrew media that his Israeli-backed forces would be
playing “an important security role regarding entry and exit through the
Rafah crossing”.

Days later, reports that these death squads had been deployed at
Israeli-controlled checkpoints emerged, alongside accounts of abuse. One
woman, whose identity was concealed, informed the BBC that the collaborator
militants told her that they could help her travel to Europe if she
collaborated with them.

The woman’s hands were then bound, as the ISIS-linked militants insulted
and physically assaulted her. In addition to this, she testified to having
been tripsearched alongside three other women.

As a result of such reports, the European Union, which has its own monitors
who are active at the Rafah Crossing, later stated it would consider
sending its own people to escort Palestinians to the Israeli checkpoint in
order to avoid such cases in the future.

Other reports emerged, some of which were also covered by the BBC, which
suggested that the personal items of Palestinian travelers were confiscated
by the EU’s officials. A woman named Rabia remarked that “They took
perfumes, accessories, make-up, cigarettes, headphones – everything, they
didn’t leave anything with us”.
*International Oversight*

All of this is being carried out under the watchful eye of the
International Community, as are the daily Israeli ceasefire violations that
have led to the mass murder of nearly 600 Palestinians in Gaza since
October 10, 2025, when the ceasefire began. The Civil Military Coordination
Center (CMCC), led by the US and Israeli militaries, is made up of over 20
different countries, which watch on as Israel demolishes civilian homes,
funnels millions into ISIS-linked militias, and murders civilians.

There are also now questions about the future planned “Palestinian security
forces” that are vaguely mentioned in the US’s plans for Gaza, with some
speculating that the five Israeli-backed groups will make up a significant
portion of that planned force.

In other words, the international community is permitting ISIS-linked
militants with a diverse array of criminal convictions – who have a history
of committing torture, executions, armed robbery, and raids on hospitals,
all under Israel’s guidance – to play “security roles” in Gaza, all so that
Palestinians are robbed of any sign of future statehood.

*(The Palestine Chronicle)*


*– Robert Inlakesh is a journalist, writer, and documentary filmmaker. He
focuses on the Middle East, specializing in Palestine. He contributed this
article to The Palestine Chronicle. *
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://freedomarchives.org/pipermail/news_freedomarchives.org/attachments/20260213/e5e48d97/attachment.htm>